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@entenays  IBtittCon  . 
A   DISCOURSE 

OF 

MATTERS  PERTAINING  TO 
RELIGION 


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^4^A  J.^. 


^^^^^  /c-c^<_ 


A  Discourse 


OF 


Matters  Pertaining  to 
Religion 


BY 


THEODORE  PARKER 


EDITED    WITH    A    PREFACE 
BY 

THOMAS  WENTWORTH  HIGGINSON 


If  an  offence  come  out  of  the  Truth,  better  it  is  that  the  offence  come 
than  that  the  Truth  be  concealed.  —  Jbeobik. 


BOSTON 

AMERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION 

25  Beacon  Street 


Copyright,  1907 
Am££Icak  Unitarian  Association 


Add  to  Libi 

i^f  FA 

GIFT 


PbXSSWORE  BT  THB  UmVEBSITT  PbESS,  CAMBBmOB,  T7. 8.  A. 


T3 
1907 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 


The  w^ork  entitled  "A  Discourse  of  Matters  Per- 
taining to  Religion,"  best  known  colloquially  as  "  Par- 
ker's Discourse  of  Religion  "  is  undoubtedly  the  single 
work  of  Theodore  Parker  by  which  he  will  be  most  per- 
manently remembered.  This  is,  in  the  first  place,  be- 
cause it  was  written  in  1841,  at  West  Roxbury,  be- 
fore he  had  become  (Jan.  2,  1846)  the  minister  of  a 
great  Boston  congregation  and  a  leader  in  the  most 
important  popular  reforms.  He  had  not  yet  known 
the  trials  and  responsibilities  of  a  city  preacher,  tempted 
at  every  moment  to  undertake  collateral  work.  Al- 
though the  basis  of  this  book  lay  in  five  lectures,  yet 
he  was  not  called  upon,  while  writing  these,  as  in  his 
Boston  pulpit,  to  face  each  Sunday  an  ever  new  con- 
gregation, thus  needing  to  repeat  each  week  the  funda- 
mental elements  of  his  faith.  That  both  he  and  his 
readers  thus  prized  the  book  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  it  passed  through  four  editions,  three  in  America 
and  one  in  England,  covering  a  range  of  fourteen 
years,  the  fourth  edition  here  reprinted  being  finally 
revised  as  he  himself  said  "  in  the  hght  of  the  theo- 
logical science  of  the  present  day." 

More  than  half  a  century  has  now  passed  since  even 
that  latest  preface  was  written.  The  book  which  was 
even  then  severely  denounced  among  the  most  advanced 
theological  denominations  is  now  viewed  in  a  very  dif- 
ferent light.  For  this  very  reason  it  is  desirable  that 
the  reproduction  of  it  should  be,  as  far  as  possible, 
literal,  yet  carefully  revised  and  verified  in  all  reason- 
able aspects,  correcting  only  its  few  misprints  or  ac- 


M779G71 


vi  EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

cidental  errors  and  thus  leaving  it  to  stand  as  abso- 
lutely as  possible  for  the  mind  and  conclusions  of 
its  writer. 

The  numerous  notes,  crowded  with  references  be- 
yond most  theological  works  of  its  time,  have  been 
left  unchanged,  being  only,  so  far  as  can  be  reasonably 
asked,  revised  and  verified.  To  have  done  this  verifi- 
cation with  absolute  completeness  would  have  been 
wholly  impossible.  It  can  only  be  claimed  that  it  has 
been  thoroughly  done  as  far  as  scriptural  references 
are  concerned  and  that  it  has  met  with  some  necessary 
limitations  of  time  and  strength  in  other  respects.  In 
this  latest  edition,  especially,  the  range  of  the  author's 
citations  goes  far  beyond  his  own  celebrated  library 
which  at  that  period  had  probably  no  rival  in  New 
England.  In  a  multitude  of  instances,  the  volumes 
cited  by  Parker  as  authorities  are  not  to  be  found  in 
his  own  library  as  now  transferred  bodily  to  the  great 
Boston  Public  Library  and  have  to  be  sought  else- 
where, if  at  all,  and  often  without  final  success  even  in 
the  Harvard  Library. 

The  question  curiously  arises,  where  did  Parker  find 
his  references  ?  There  were  in  the  library  of  the  Har- 
vard Divinity  School,  in  1842,  but  1800  volumes. 
Two  of  the  largest  private  collections  of  similar  books  in 
or  near  Boston,  were  that  of  George  Ripley  —  de- 
scribed with  some  detail  in  Frothingham's  memoir  of 
him,  and  finally  sold  at  auction  —  and  that  of  Convers 
Francis.  These  are  now  long  since  scattered  in  dif- 
ferent directions,  so  that  most  of  these  books,  which 
Parker  doubtless  used  freely  are  not  now  found.  It 
must,  moreover,  be  remembered  that  during  his  first 
year  in  Europe,  he  met  many  eminent  German  scholars 
and  inspected  many  libraries  and  from  all  this  came 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE  vii 

resources  of  citation,  at  least,  quite  beyond  what  the 
shelves  of  his  library  represented,  ^he  result  is  that 
the  present  editor  has  been  obliged  to  content  himself 
with  following  up  and  verifying  enough  of  Parker's 
miscellaneous  references  to  make  it  plain  that  his  habit 
of  accuracy  was  far  beyond  that  of  the  average  writer 
and  that  errors  were  accidental  and  rare.  It  is,  of 
course,  needless  to  those  who  knew  Parker  to  point  out 
that  no  such  thing  can  be  detected  in  the  book  as  a 
wilful  unfairness  or  a  voluntary  flinching  from  the 
truth  as  it  stood  before  him. 

Thomas  Wentwoeth  Higginsgn. 


PREFACE      " 

TO   THE   FIRST  EDITION 

The  following  pages  contain  the  substance  of  a  se- 
ries of  five  lectures  delivered  in  Boston,  during  the  last 
autumn,  at  the  request  of  several  gentlemen.  In  pre- 
paring the  work  for  the  press  I  have  enlarged  on  many 
subjects,  which  could  be  but  slightly  touched  in  a  brief 
lecture.  It  was  with  much  diffidence  that  I  then  gave 
my  opinions  to  the  public  in  that  form ;  but  considering 
the  state  of  theological  learning  amongst  us,  and  the 
frequent  abuse  of  the  name  of  Religion,  I  can  no  longer 
withhold  my  humble  mite. 

It  is  the  design  of  this  work  to  recall  men  from  the 
transient  shows  of  time,  to  the  permanent  substance  of 
religion ;  from  a  worship  of  creeds  and  empty  belief, 
to  a  worship  in  the  spirit  and  in  life.  If  it  satisfy  the 
doubting  soul,  and  help  the  serious  inquirer  to  true 
views  of  God,  man,  the  relation  between  them,  and 
the  duties  which  come  of  that  relation;  if  it  make 
religion  appear  more  congenial  and  attractive,  and  a 
divine  life  more  beautiful  and  sweet  than  heretofore 
—  my  end  is  answered.  I  have  not  sought  to  pull 
down,  but  to  build  up ;  to  remove  the  rubbish  of  human 
inventions  from  the  fair  temple  of  divine  truth,  that 
men  may  enter  its  shining  gates  and  be  blessed  now 
and  forever. 

I  have  found  it  necessary,  though  painful,  to  speak 
of  many  popular  delusions,  and  expose  their  fallacy 
and  dangerous  character,  but  have  not,  I  trust,  been 
blind  to  "  the  soul  of  goodness  in  things  evil,"  though 
I  have  taken  no  great  pains  to  speak  smooth  things, 

ix 


X  PREFACE 

or  say  peace,  peace,  when  there  was  no  peace.  The 
subject  of  Book  IV.  might  seem  to  require  a  greater 
space  than  I  have  allowed  it,  but  a  cursory  examination 
of  many  points  there  hinted  at,  would  require  a  volume, 
and  I  did  not  wish  to  repeat  what  is  said  elsewhere, 
and  therefore  have  referred  to  an  "  Introduction  to  the 
Old  Testament  on  the  basis  of  De  Wette,"  which  is 
now  in  the  press,  and  will  probably  come  before  the 
public  in  a  few  months.  Some  of  the  thoughts  here 
set  forth  have  also  appeared  in  the  Dial  for  1840-42. 
I  can  only  wish  that  the  errors  of  this  book  may  find 
no  favor,  but  perish  speedily,  and  that  the  truths  it 
humbly  aims  to  set  forth,  may  do  their  good  and  beau- 
tiful work. 

West  Roxbury^  Mass. 
7th  of  May,  1842. 


PREFACE 

TO    THE    FOURTH   EDITION 

It  is  now  fourteen  years  since  I  prepared  the  first 
edition  of  this  volume.  In  that  time  laborious  Ger- 
mans, some  of  them  men  of  great  genius,  have  investi- 
gated the  history  of  the  first  and  second  centuries  of 
the  Christian  Era  with  an  amount  of  learning,  pa- 
tience, sagacity,  and  freedom  of  thought  never  before 
directed  to  that  inquiry.  Partly  by  their  help,  and 
partly  by  my  own  investigations,  I  have  been  led  to 
conclude  that  the  fourth  Gospel  is  not  the  work  of 
John  the  Disciple  of  Jesus,  but  belongs  to  a  later  pe- 
riod, and  is  of  small  historical  value.  This  conclu- 
sion and  its  consequences  will  appear  in  some  altera- 
tions made  in  this  volume,  which  I  have  carefully  re- 
vised in  the  light  of  the  theological  science  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  I  know  there  are  truths  in  the  book  which 
must  prevail;  the  errors  connected  therewith  I  invite 
men  to  expose  and  leave  them  to  perish,  that  the  truths 
may  the  more  readily  do  their  work.  I  commit  both 
to  the  justice  of  mankind. 

Boston,  Dec.  25,  1855. 


"To  false  Religion,  we  are  indebted  for  persecutors,  zealots, 
and  bigots;  and  perhaps  human  depravity  has  assumed  no 
forms,  at  once  more  odious  and  despicable,  than  those  in  which 
it  has  appeared  in  such  men.  I  will  say  nothing  of  persecution; 
it  has  passed  away,  I  trust,  forever;  and  torture  will  no  more 
be  inflicted,  and  murder  no  more  committed,  under  pretence  of 
extending  the  spirit  and  influence  of  Christianity.  But  the  tem- 
per which  produced  it  still  remains;  its  parent  bigotry  is  still 
in  existence;  and  what  is  there  more  adapted  to  excite  thorough 
disgust,  than  the  disposition,  the  feelings,  the  motives,  the  kind 
of  intellect  and  degree  of  knowledge,  discovered  by  some  of 
those,  who  are  pretending  to  be  the  sole  defenders,  and  patrons 
of  religious  truth  in  this  unhappy  world,  and  the  true  and  exclu- 
sive heirs  of  all  the  mercy  of  God?  It  is  a  particular  misfor- 
tune, that  when  gross  errors  in  religion  prevail,  the  vices  of 
which  I  speak,  show  themselves  especially  in  the  clergy;  and 
that  we  find  them  ignorant,  narrow-minded,  presumptuous,  and 
as  far  as  they  have  it  in  their  power,  oppressive  and  imperious. 
The  disgust  which  this  character  in  those  who  appear  as  minis- 
ters of  religion,  naturally  produces,  is  often  transferred  to 
Christianity  itself.  It  ought  to  be  associated  only  with  that  form 
of  religion  by  which  those  vices  are  occasioned." —  Andrews  Nor- 
Tox,  Thoughts  on  true  and  false  Religion,  second  edition,  pp. 
15,  16. 


Xll 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction .  ,.^': 

xvii 

BOOK  I 

OF    RELIGION   IN    GENERAL  I    OR   A    DISCOURSE   OF  THE 
RELIGIOUS    ELEMENT   AND    ITS   MANIFESTATIONS 
CHAPTER 

I.    An  Examination  of  the  Religious  Element 

in  Man,  and  the  Existence  of  its  Object        1 
11.    Of  the  Sentiment,  Idea,  and  Conception  of 

God 9 

m.    Power  of  the  Religious  Element ....       18 
IV.    The  Idea  of  Religion  connected  with  Science 

and  Life 32 

.  V.   The  three  great  Historical  P'orms  of  Reli- 
gion     39 

VI.    Of  certain  Doctrines  connected  with  Reli- 
gion. 
I.    Of  the  Primitive  State  of  Mankind, 
n.   Of  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul .     .     .       97 
VII.    The  Influence  of  the  Rehgious  Element  on 

Life 117 


XIV 


CONTENTS 


BOOK  II 


THE  RELATION  OF  THE    RELIGIOUS   SENTIMENT  TO   GOD, 

OR   A    DISCOURSE    OF    INSPIRATION 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.   The  Idea  and  Conception  of  God      .     .     .     141 
II.   The  Relation  of  Nature  to  God    ....     151 

III.  Statement  of  the  Analogy  drawn  from  God's 

Relation  to  Nature 161 

rV.   The  General  Relation  of  Supply  to  Want  162 
V.    Statement  of  the  Analogy  from  this  Rela- 
tion      168 

VI.   The  Rationalistic  View,  or  Naturalism  .     .  174 
VII.   The    Anti-rationalistic    View,    or    Super- 
naturalism    183 

VIII.   The  Natural-Religious  View,  or  Spiritualism  190 

BOOK   III 

THE    RELATION    OF   THE    RELIGIOUS    ELEMENT   TO   JESUS 
OF   NAZARETH,  OR    A    DISCOURSE    OF    CHRISTIANITY 

I.    Statement  of  the  Question  and  the  Method 

of  Inquiry 211 

II.    Removal  of  some  Difficulties.    Character  of 

the  Christian  Records 219 

III.   The  Religious  and  Theological  Doctrines 

of  Jesus 225 

IV.  The  Authority  of  Jesus,  its  Real  and  Pre- 

tended Source 237 

V.    The  Essential  Excellence  of  the  Christian 

Religion 257 


CONTENTS  xf 

CHAPTER 

PAOB 

VI.   The  Moral  and  Religious  Character  of  Jesus 

of  Nazareth 2^ 

VII.    Mistakes  about  Jesus  —  his  Reception  and 

Influence 272 

BOOK  IV 

THE    RELATION    OF   THE    RELIGIOUS   ELEI^TENT  TO   THE 
GREATEST  OF  BOOKS,  OR  A  DISCOURSE  OF  THE  BIBLE 

I.    Position  of  the  Bible  —  Claims  made  for  it 

—  Statement  of  the  Question  ....     289 
II.   An  Examination  of  the  Claims  of  the  Old 
Testament  to  be  a  Divine,  Miraculous, 
or  Infallible  Composition 298 

III.  An  Examination  of  the  Claims  of  the  New 

Testament  to  be  a  Divine,  Miraculous, 

or  Infallible  Composition 320 

IV.  The  Absolute  Religion  independent  of  His- 

torical Documents  —  the  Bible  as  it  is  .     331 
V.    Cause  of  the  False  and  the  Real  Veneration 

for  the  Bible 335 

BOOK  V 

THE    RELATION    OF   THE    RELIGIOUS   ELEMENT  TO   THE 
GREATEST   OF   HUMAN   INSTITUTIONS,   OR   A   DIS- 
COURSE  OF   THE   CHURCH 

I.    Claims  of  the  Christian  Church    ....     345 
II.    The  Gradual  Formation  of  the  Christian 

Church 851 


xvi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

III.  The  Fundamental  and  Distinctive  Idea  of 

the  Christian  Church — Division  of  the 

Christian  Sects 366 

IV.  The  Catholic  Party 369 

V.   The  Protestant  Party 393 

VL    Of  the  Party  that  are  neither  Catholics  nor 

Protestants 429 

VII.   The  Final  Answer  to  the  Question    .     .     .     433 

The  Conclusion 439 


INTRODUCTION 

The  history  of  the  world  shows  clearly  that  religion 
Is  the  highest  of  all  human  concerns.  Yet  the  greatest 
good  is  often  subject  to  the  worst  abuse.  The  doc- 
trines and  ceremonies  that  represent  the  popular  reli- 
gion at  this  time,  offer  a  strange  mingling  of  truth  and 
error.  Theology  is  often  confounded  with  religion; 
men  exhaust  their  strength  in  believing,  and  so  have 
little  reason  to  inquire  with,  or  solid  piety  to  live  by. 
It  requires  no  prophet  to  see  that  what  is  popularly 
taught  and  accepted  as  religion  is  no  very  divine  thing ; 
not  fitted  to  make  the  world  purer,  and  men  more  wor- 
thy to  live  in  it.  In  the  popular  belief  of  the  present, 
as  of  all  time,  there  is  something  mutable  and  fleeting ; 
sometimes  also  which  is  eternally  the  same.  The  for- 
mer lies  on  the  surface,  and  all  can  see  it;  the  latter 
lies  deep  and  often  escapes  observation.  Our  popular 
theology  is  mainly  based  on  the  superficial  and  tran- 
sient element.  It  stands  by  the  forbearance  of  the 
skeptic.  They  who  rely  on  it,  are  always  in  danger 
and  always  in  dread.  A  doubt  strongly  put,  shakes  the 
pulpits  of  New  England,  and  wakens  the  thunder  of 
the  churches ;  the  more  reasonable  the  doubt  the  greater 
the  alarm.  Do  men  fear  lest  the  mountains  fall:  tra- 
dition is  always  uncertain.  "  Perhaps  yes,  perhaps 
no,"  is  all  we  can  say  of  it.  Yet  it  is  made  the  basis 
of  religion.  Authority  is  taken  for  truth,  and  not 
truth  for  authority.  Belief  is  made  the  substance  of 
religion,  as  authority  its  sanction  and  tradition  its 
ground.  The  name  of  infidel  is  applied  to  the  best 
of  men ;  the  wisest,  the  most  spiritual  and  heavenly  of 
xvii 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

our  brothers.  The  bad  and  the  foolish  naturally  ask, 
If  the  name  be  deserved,  what  is  the  use  of  religion, 
as  good  men  and  wise  men  can  be  good  and  wise, 
heavenly  and  spiritual  without  it?  The  answer  is  plain 
—  but  not  to  the  blind. 

Practical  religion  implies  both  a  sentiment  and  a 
life.  We  honor  a  phantom  which  is  neither  life  nor 
sentiment.  Yes,  we  have  two  spectres  that  often  take 
the  place  of  religion  with  us.  The  one  is  a  shadow 
of  the  sentiment ;  that  is  our  creed,  belief,  theology,  by 
whatever  name  we  call  it.  The  other  is  the  ghost  of 
life;  this  is  our  ceremonies,  forms,  devout  practices. 
The  two  spectres  by  turns  act  the  part  of  religion, 
and  we  are  called  Christians  because  we  assist  at  the 
show.  Real  piety  is  expected  of  but  few.  He  is  called 
a  Christian  that  bows  to  the  idol  of  his  tribe,  and  sets 
up  also  a  lesser,  but  orthodox  idol  in  his  own  den. 
One  word  of  the  prophet  is  true  of  our  religion  —  Its 
voice  is  not  heard  in  the  streets.  Our  theology  is  full 
of  confusion.  They  who  admit  reason  to  look  upon 
it  confound  the  matter  still  more,  for  a  great  revolution 
of  thought  alone  can  set  affairs  right. 

Religion  is  separated  from  life;  divorced  from  bed 
and  board.  We  think  to  be  religious  without  love  for 
men,  and  pious  with  none  for  God;  or,  which  is  the 
same  thing,  that  we  can  love  our  neighbor  without 
helping  him,  and  God  without  having  an  idea  of  Him. 
The  prevailing  theology  represents  God  as  a  being 
whom  a  good  man  must  hate;  religion  is  something 
alien  to  our  nature,  which  can  only  rise  as  reason  falls. 
A  despair  of  man  pervades  our  theology.  Pious  men 
mourn  at  the  famine  in  our  churches;  we  do  not  be- 
lieve in  the  inspiration  of  goodness  now;  only  in  the 
tradition  of  goodness  long  ago.     For  all  theological 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

purposes,  God  might  have  been  buried  jifter  the  ascen- 
sion of  Jesus.  We  dare  not  approach  the  Infinite  One 
face  to  face;  we  whine  and  whimper  in  our  brother's 
name,  as  if  we  could  only  appear  before  the  Omnipres- 
ent by  attorney. 

Our  reverence  for  the  past  is  just  in  proportion  to 
our  ignorance  of  it.  We  think  God  was  once  every- 
where in  the  world  and  in  the  soul;  but  has  now 
crept  into  a  comer,  as  good  as  dead;  that  the  Bible 
was  his  last  word.  Instead  of  the  Father  of  All  for 
our  God,  we  have  two  idols;  the  Bible,  a  record  of 
men's  words  and  works ;  and  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man 
who  lived  divinely  some  centuries  ago.  These  are  the 
idols  of  the  religious ;  our  standard  of  truth ;  the  gods 
in  whom  we  trust.  Mammon,  the  great  idol  of  men 
not  religious  —  who  overtops  them  both,  and  has  the 
sincerest  worshippers  —  need  not  now  be  named.  His 
votaries  knom  they  are  idolaters ;  the  others  worship  in 
ignorance,  their  faith  fixed  mainly  on  transient  things. 

I  know  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Saints 
never  fail  from  the  earth.  Reason  will  claim  some  de- 
serted niche  in  every  church.  But  wise  men  grieve 
over  our  notions  of  religion  —  so  poor,  so  alien  to  rea- 
son. Pious  men  weep  over  our  practice  of  religion  — 
so  far  from  Christianity.  What  passes  for  Christian- 
ity in  our  times  is  not  reasonable;  no  man  pretends  it. 
It  can  only  be  defended  by  forbidding  a  reasonable  man 
to  open  his  mouth.  We  go  from  the  street  to  the 
church.  What  a  change!  Reason  and  good  sense 
and  manly  energy,  which  do  their  work  in  the  world, 
have  here  little  to  do;  their  voice  is  not  heard.  The 
morality,  however,  is  the  same  in  both  places;  it  has 
only  laid  off  its  working  dress,  smoothed  its  face,  put 
on  its  Sunday  clothes. 


XX 


INTRODUCTION 


The  popular  theology  is  hostile  to  man ;  tells  us  he 
is  an  outcast;  not  a  child  of  God,  but  a  spurious  issue 
of  the  devil.  He  must  not  even  pray  in  his  own  name. 
His  duty  is  an  impossible  thing.  No  man  can  do  it. 
He  deserves  nothing  but  damnation.  Theology  tells 
him  that  is  all  he  is  sure  of.  It  teaches  the  doctrine  of 
immortality ;  but  in  such  a  guise,  that,  if  true,  it  is  a 
misfortune  to  mankind.  Its  heaven  is  a  place  no  man 
has  a  right  to.  Would  a  good  man  willingly  accept 
what  is  not  his.?  Pray  for  it?  This  theology  rests  on 
a  lie.  Men  have  made  it  out  of  assumptions.  The 
conclusions  came  from  the  premises;  but  the  premises 
were  made  for  the  sake  of  the  conclusions.  Each 
vouches  for  the  other's  truth.  But  what  else  will  vouch 
for  either.?  The  historical  basis  of  popular  doctrines, 
such  as  depravity,  redemption,  resurrection,  the  in- 
carnation—  is  it  formed  of  facts  or  of  no-facts? 
Who  shall  tell  us?  Do  not  the  wise  men  look  after 
these  things?  One  must  needs  blush  for  the  patience 
of  mankind. 

But  has  religion  only  the  bubble  of  tradition  to  rest 
on;  no  other  sanction  than  authority;  no  substance 
but  belief?  They  know  little  of  the  matter  who  say 
it.  Did  religion  begin  with  what  we  call  Christianity  ? 
Were  there  no  saints  before  Peter?  Religion  is  the 
first  spiritual  thing  man  learned ;  the  last  thing  he  will 
abandon.  There  is  but  one  religion,  as  one  ocean; 
though  we  call  it  faith  in  our  church,  and  infidelity 
out  of  our  church. 

It  is  my  design  in  these  pages  to  recall  men  from  the 
transient  form  to  the  eternal  substance;  from  outward 
and  false  belief  to  real  and  inward  life;  from  this 
partial  theology  and  its  idols  of  human  devise,  to  that 


INTRODUCTION 


XXI 


universal  religion  and  its  ever  living  infinite  God; 
from  the  temples  of  human  folly  and  sin,  which  every 
day  crumble  and  fall,  to  the  inner  sanctuary  of  the 
heart  where  the  still  small  voice  will  never  cease  to 
speak.  I  would  show  men  religion  as  she  is  —  most 
fair  of  all  God's  fairest  children.  If  I  fail  in  this,  it  is 
the  head  that  is  weak,  not  the  heart  that  is  wanting. 


BOOK  I 


"Who  is  there  almost  that  has  not  opinions  planted  in  him  by 
education  time  out  of  mind;  which  by  that  means  came  to  be  as 
the  municipal  laws  of  the  country,  which  must  not  be  questioned, 
but  are  then  looked  on  with  reverence,  as  the  standards  of  right 
and  wrong,  truth  and  falsehood  were;  when  perhaps  these  so 
sacred  opinions  were  but  the  oracles  of  the  nursery,  or  the  tra- 
ditional grave  talk  of  those  who  pretend  to  inform  our  child- 
hood; who  receive  them  from  hand  to  hand  without  ever  examin- 
ing them?  .  .  .  These  ancient  preoccupations  of  our  minds, 
these  several  and  almost  sacred  opinions,  are  to  be  examined  if 
we  will  make  way  for  truth,  and  put  our  minds  in  that  freedom 
which  belongs  and  is  necessary  to  them.  A  mistake  is  not  the  less 
so,  and  will  never  grow  into  a  truth  because  we  have  believed  it  a 
long  time,  though  perhaps  it  be  the  harder  to  part  with;  and 
an  error  is  not  the  less  dangerous,  nor  the  less  contrary  to  truth 
because  it  is  cried  up  and  had  in  veneration  by  any  party." — 
Locke,  in  King's  Life  of  Mm,  second  edition;  Vol.  I.  pp.  188, 
192. 


XXIV 


Bodicr^^^^^^K-v 


OF    RELIGION    IN    GENERAL:    OR    A    DIS- 
COURSE OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT 
AND  ITS  MANIFESTATIONS 


CHAPTER  I 

AN  EXAMINATION  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  ELE- 
MENT IN  MAN,  AND  THE  EXIST- 
ENCE OF  ITS  OBJECT 

As  we  look  on  the  world  which  man  has  added  to 
that  which  came  from  the  hand  of  its  Maker,  we  are 
struck  with  the  variety  of  its  objects,  and  the  contra- 
diction between  them.  There  are  institutions  to  pre- 
vent crime;  institutions  that  of  necessity  perpetuate 
crime.  This  is  built  on  selfishness;  would  stand  by 
the  downfall  of  justice  and  truth.  Side  by  side  there- 
with is  another,  whose  broad  foundation  is  universal 
love, —  love  for  all  that  are  of  woman  born.  Thus  we 
see  palaces  and  hovels ;  jails  and  asylums  for  the  weak, 
arsenals  and  churches ;  huddled  together  in  the  strangest 
and  most  intricate  confusion.  How  shall  we  bring  or- 
der out  of  this  chaos;  account  for  the  existence  of 
these  contradictions?  It  is  serious  work  to  decompose 
these  phenomena,  so  various  and  conflicting;  to  detect 
the  one  cause  in  the  many  results.  But  in  doing  this, 
we  find  the  root  of  all  in  man  himself.  In  him  is  the 
same  perplexing  antithesis  which  we  meet  in  all  his 
works.  These  conflicting  things  existed  as  ideas  in 
him  before  they  took  their  present  and  concrete  shapes. 
Discordant  causes  have  produced  efi^ects  not  harmoni- 

1 


«      '•;  ;':A  piSGatJRSE  OF  RELIGION 

oub\  :  put*4f  hia^fthese'inst'itutions  have  grown;  out  of 
hiV  pVssidns/ or  Hs' judgment;  his  senses  or  his  soul. 
Taken  together  they  are  the  exponent  which  indicates 
the  character  and  degree  of  development  the  race  has 
now  attained ;  they  are  both  the  result  of  the  past  and 
the  prophecy  of  the  future. 

From  a  survey  of  society,  and  an  examination  of 
human  nature,  we  come  at  once  to  the  conclusion,  that 
for  every  institution  out  of  man  except  that  of  religion, 
there  is  a  cause  within  him,  either  fleeting  or  permanent ; 
that  the  natural  wants  of  the  body,  the  desire  of  food 
and  raiment,  comfort  and  shelter,  have  organized  them- 
selves, and  instituted  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts ; 
that  the  more  delicate  principles  of  our  nature,  love  of 
the  beautiful,  the  true,  the  good,  have  their  organiza- 
tion also;  that  the  passions  have  their  artillery,  and  all 
the  gentler  emotions  somewhat  external  to  represent 
themselves,  and  reflect  their  image.  Thus  the  institu- 
tion of  laws,  with  their  concomitants,  the  court  house, 
and  the  jail,  we  refer  to  the  moral  sense  of  mankind, 
combining  with  the  despotic  selfishness  of  the  strong, 
whose  might  often  usurps  the  place  of  Justice.  Facto- 
ries and  commerce,  railroads  and  banks,  schools  and 
shops,  armies  and  newspapers  are  quite  easily  referred 
to  something  analogous  in  the  wants  of  man ;  to  a  last- 
ing principle,  or  a  transient  desire  which  has  projected 
them  out  of  itself.  Thus  we  see  that  these  institutions 
out  of  man  are  but  the  exhibitions  of  what  is  in  him, 
and  must  be  referred  either  to  eternal  principles,  or  mo- 
mentary passions.  Society  is  the  work  of  Man.  There 
is  nothing  in  society  which  is  not  also  in  him. 

Now  there  is  one  vast  institution,  which  extends  more 
widely  than  human  statutes ;  claims  the  larger  place  in 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  8 

human  affairs;  takes  a  deeper  hold  cwl  men  than  the 
terrible  pomp  of  war,  the  machinery  of  science,  the 
panoply  of  comfort.  This  is  the  institution  of  reli- 
gion, coeval  and  coextensive  with  the  human  race. 
Whence  comes  this?  Is  there  an  eternal  principle  in 
us  all,  which  legitimately  and  of  necessity  leads  to  this ; 
or  does  it  come,  like  piracy,  war,  the  slave-trade  and 
so  much  other  business  of  society  from  the  abuse,  mis- 
direction, and  disease  of  human  nature?  Shall  we  re- 
fer this  vast  institution  to  a  passing  passion  which  the 
advancing  race  will  outgrow,  or  does  it  come  from  a 
principle  in  us  deep  and  lasting  as  man? 

To  this  question,  for  many  ages  two  answers  have 
been  given  —  one  foolish,  and  one  wise.  The  foolish 
answer,  which  may  be  read  in  Lucretius  and  elsewhere, 
is  that  religion  is  not  a  necessity  of  man's  nature, 
which  comes  from  the  action  of  eternal  demands  within 
him,  but  is  the  result  of  spiritual  disease,  so  to  say ;  the 
effect  of  fear,  of  ignorance,  combining  with  selfishness ; 
that  hypocritical  priests  and  knavinsh  kings,  practising 
on  the  ignorance,  the  credulity,  the  passions  and  the 
fears  of  men,  invented  for  their  own  sake,  and  got  up  a 
religion,  in  which  they  put  no  behef ,  and  felt  no  spirit- 
ual concern.  But  judging  from  a  superficial  view,  it 
might  as  well  be  said  that  food  and  comfort  were  not 
necessities  of  our  nature,  but  only  cunning  devices  of 
butchers,  mechanics,  and  artists,  to  gain  wealth  and 
power.  Besides,  it  is  not  given  to  hypocrites  under  the 
mitre,  nor  over  the  throne,  to  lay  hold  on  the  world  and 
move  it.  Honest  conviction  and  Hving  faith  are  needed 
for  that  work.  To  move  the  world  of  men  firm  footing 
is  needed.  The  hypocrite  deceives  few  but  himself,  as 
the  attempts  at  pious  frauds,  in  ancient  and  modem 
times,  abundantly  prove. 


4  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

The  wise  answer  is,  that  this  institution  of  religion, 
like  society,  friendship,  and  marriage,  comes  out  of  a 
principle,  deep  and  permanent  in  the  constitution  of 
man ;  that  as  humble,  and  transient,  and  partial  insti- 
tutions come  out  of  humble,  transient  and  partial  wants, 
and  are  to  be  traced  to  the  senses  and  the  phenomena 
of  life ;  so  this  sublime,  permanent,  and  universal  insti- 
tution, came  out  from  sublime,  permanent,  and  uni- 
versal wants  and  must  be  referred  to  the  soul,  the  re- 
ligious faculty  and  so  belongs  among  the  unchanging 
realities  of  life.  Looking,  even  superficially,  but  with 
earnestness,  upon  human  affairs,  we  are  driven  to  con- 
fess, that  there  is  in  us  a  spiritual  nature,  which  directly 
and  legitimately  leads  to  religion ;  that  as  man's  body 
is  connected  with  the  world  of  matter;  rooted  in  it, 
has  bodily  wants,  bodily  senses  to  minister  thereto,  and 
a  fund  of  external  materials,  wherewith  to  gratify  these 
senses,  and  appease  these  wants ;  so  man's  soul  is  con- 
nected with  the  world  of  spirit;  rooted  in  God;  has 
spiritual  wants  and  spiritual  senses,  and  a  fund  of  ma- 
terials wherewith  to  gratify  these  spiritual  senses,  and 
appease  these  spiritual  wants.  If  this  be  so,  then  do 
not  religious  institutions  come  equally  from  man? 
Must  it  not  be  that  there  is  nothing  in  religion,  more 
than  in  society,  which  is  not  implied  in  him  ? 

Now  the  existence  of  a  religious  element  in  us,  is 
not  a  matter  of  hazardous  and  random  conjecture,  nor 
attested  only  by  a  superficial  glance  at  the  history  of 
man,  but  this  principle  is  found  out,  and  its  existence 
demonstrated  in  several  legitimate  ways. 

We  see  the  phenomena  of  worship  and  religious  ob- 
servances; of  religious  wants  and  actions  to  supply 
those  wants.     Work  implies  a  hand  that  did,  and  a 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  6 

head  that  planned  it.  A  sound  induction  from  these 
facts,  carries  us  back  to  a  religious  principle  in  man, 
though  the  induction  does  not  determine  the  nature  of 
this  principle,  except  that  it  is  the  cause  of  these  phe- 
nomena. This  common  and  notorious  fact  of  religious 
phenomena  being  found  everywhere,  can  be  explained 
only  on  the  supposition  that  man  is,  by  the  necessity 
of  his  nature,  inclined  to  religion;  that  worship,  in 
some  form,  gross  or  refined,  in  act,  or  word,  or  thought, 
or  life,  is  natural  and  quite  indispensable  to  the  race. 
If  the  opposite  view  be  taken,  that  there  is  no  religious 
principle  in  man,  then  there  are  permanent  and  uni- 
versal phenomena  without  a  corresponding  cause,  and 
the  fact  remains  unexplained  and  unaccountable. 

Again,  we  feel  conscious  of  this  element  within  us. 
We  are  not  sufficient  for  ourselves ;  not  self -originated ; 
not  self -sustained.  A  few  years  ago,  and  we  were  not ; 
a  few  years  hence,  and  our  bodies  shall  not  be.  A  mys- 
tery is  gathered  about  our  little  life.  We  have  but 
small  control  over  things  around  us;  are  limited  and 
hemmed  in  on  all  sides.  Our  schemes  fail.  Our 
plans  miscarry.  One  after  another,  our  lights  go  out. 
Our  realities  prove  dreams.  Our  hopes  waste  away. 
We  are  not  where  we  would  be,  nor  what  we  would  be. 
After  much  experience,  men  powerful  as  Napoleon,  vic- 
torious as  Csesar,  confess,  what  simpler  men  knew  by  in- 
stinct long  before,  that  it  is  not  in  man  that  walketh,  to 
direct  his  steps.  We  find  our  circumference  very  near 
the  center,  everywhere.  An  exceedingly  short  radius 
measures  all  our  strength.  We  can  know  little  of  ma- 
terial things ;  nothing  but  their  phenomena.  As  the 
circle  of  our  knowledge  widens  its  ring,  we  feel  our  ig- 
norance on  more  numerous  points,  and  the  unknown 
seems  greater  than  before.     At  the  end  of  a  toilsome 


6  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

life,  we  confess,  with  a  great  man  of  modern  times,  that 
we  have  wandered  on  the  shore,  and  gathered  here  a 
bright  pebble,  and  there  a  shining  shell  —  but  an  ocean 
of  truth,  boundless  and  unf athomed,  lies  before  us,  and 
all  unknown.  The  wisest  ancient  knew  only  this,  that 
he  knew  nothing.  We  feel  an  irresistible  tendency  to 
refer  all  outward  things  and  ourselves  with  them,  to  a 
Power  beyond  us,  sublime  and  mysterious,  which  we 
cannot  measure,  nor  even  comprehend.  We  are  filled 
with  reverence  at  the  thought  of  this  power.  Outward 
matters  give  us  the  occasion  which  awakens  conscious- 
ness, and  spontaneous  nature  leads  us  to  something 
higher  than  ourselves,  and  greater  than  all  the  eyes  be- 
hold. We  are  bowed  down  at  the  thought.  Thus  the 
sentiment  of  something  superhuman  comes  natural  as 
breath.  This  primitive  spiritual  sensation  comes  over 
the  soul,  when  a  sudden  calamity  throws  us  from  our 
habitual  state;  when  joy  fills  our  cup  to  its  brim;  at 
"  a  wedding  or  a  funeral,  a  mourning  or  a  festival ;" 
when  we  stand  beside  a  great  work  of  nature,  a  moun- 
tain, a  waterfall;  when  the  twilight  gloom  of  a  prim- 
itive forest  sends  awe  into  the  heart ;  when  we  sit  alone 
with  ourselves,  and  turn  in  the  eye,  and  ask.  What  am 
I?  Whence  came  1?  Whither  shall  I  go.f^  There  is 
no  man  who  has  not  felt  this  sensation ;  this  mysterious 
sentiment  of  something  unbounded. 

Still  further,  we  arrive  at  the  same  result  from  a  phil- 
osophical analysis  of  man's  nature.  We  set  aside  the 
body  with  its  senses  as  the  man's  house,  having  doors 
and  windows;  we  examine  the  understanding,  which 
is  his  handmaid;  we  separate  the  affections  which 
unite  man  with  man;  we  discover  the  moral  sense,  by 
which  we  can  discern  between  right  and  wrong  as  by, 
the  body's  eye  between  black  and  white,  or  night  and 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  T 

day ;  and  behind  all  these,  and  deeper,  down,  beneath 
all  the  shifting  phenomena  of  hfe,  we  discover  the  re- 
ligious ELEMENT  OF  MAN.  Looking  carefully  at  this 
element ;  separating  this  as  a  cause  from  its  actions,  and 
these  from  their  effects  ;  stripping  this  faculty  of  all  ac- 
cidental circumstances  peculiar  to  the  age,  nation,  sect, 
or  individual,  and  pursuing  a  sharp  and  final  analysis 
till  the  subject  and  predicate  can  no  longer  be  sepa- 
rated; we  find  as  the  ultimate  fact,  that  the  religious 
element  first  manifests  itself  in  our  consciousness  by  a 
feeling  of  need,  of  want ;  in  one  word  by  a  sense  of  de- 
pendence.* This  primitive  feeling  does  not,  itself, 
disclose  the  character,  and  still  less  the  nature  and  es- 
sence of  the  object  on  which  it  depends;  no  more  than 
the  senses  disclose  the  nature  of  their  objects;  no  more 
than  the  eye  or  ear  discovers  the  essence  of  light  or 
sound.      Like  them,  it  acts  spontaneous  and  uncon- 

*The  religious  and  moral  elements  mutually  involve  each 
other  in  practice;  neither  can  attain  a  perfect  development  with- 
out the  other;  but  they  are  yet  as  distinct  from  one  another  as 
the  faculties  of  sight  and  hearing,  or  memory  and  imagination. 
Perhaps  all  will  not  agree  with  that  analysis  which  makes  a 
sense  of  dependence  the  ultimate  fact  of  consciousness  in  the 
case.  This  is  the  statement  of  Schleiermacher,  not  to  mention 
more  ancient  authorities.  See  his  Christliche  Glaubc  nach  dcr 
Grundsatzen  der  ev.  Kirche.  B.  I.  §  4,  p.  15,  et  seq.  in  his 
Works;  1  Abt.  B.  III.;  Berlin,  1835.  Of  course  a  sense  of 
infinite  as  well  as  finite  dependence  is  intended.  Others  may 
call  it  a  consciousness  of  the  Infinite;  I  contend  more  for  the 
fact  of  a  religious  element  in  man  than  for  the  above  analysis 
of  that  element.  This  theory  has  been  assailed  by  several  philos- 
ophers, amongst  others  by  Hegel.  See  his  Philosophie  der  Re- 
ligion, 2d  improved  edition,  B.  I.  p.  87,  et  seq.,  in  B.  XI.  of  his 
works;  Berlin,  1840,  B.  XVII.  p.  279,  et  seq.,  Rosenkranti. 
Leben  Hegels;  Berlin,  1844,  p.  341,  et  seq.  See  also  Bret- 
schneider,  Handbuch  der  Dogmatik;  Leip.  1838,  Vol.  I.,  §  12,  6. 
See  Studien  und  Kritiken,  fiir  Oct.  1846,  p.  845,  et  seq.  for  a 
defence  of  the  opinion  of  Schleiermacher. 


8  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

sciously,  soon  as  the  outward  occasion  offers,  with  no 
effort  of  will,  forethought,  or  making  up  the  mind. 

Thus,  then,  it  appears  that  induction  from  notorious 
facts;  consciousness  spontaneously  active,  and  a  philo- 
sophical analysis  of  our  nature,  all  lead  equally  to  some 
religious  element  or  principle  as  an  essential  part  of 
man's  constitution.  Now  when  it  is  stated  thus  na- 
kedly and  abstractly,  that  man  has  in  his  nature  a  per- 
manent religious  element,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  on  what 
grounds  this  primary  faculty  can  be  denied  by  any 
thinking  man,  who  will  notice  the  religious  phenomena 
in  history,  trust  his  own  consciousness,  or  examine,  and 
analyze  the  combined  elements  of  his  own  being.  It 
is  true,  men  do  not  often  say  to  themselves,  "  Go  to 
now.  Lo,  I  have  a  religious  element  in  the  bottom  of 
my  heart."  But  neither  do  they  often  say,  "  Behold,  I 
have  hands  and  feet,  and  am  the  same  being  that  I  was 
last  night  or  forty  years  ago."  In  a  natural  and 
healthy  state  of  mind,  men  rarely  speak  or  think  of 
what  is  felt  unconsciously  to  be  most  true,  and  the  basis 
of  all  spiritual  action.  It  is,  indeed,  most  abundantly 
established,  that  there  is  a  religious  element  in  man. 


CHAPTER  II     " 

OF  THE  SENTIMENT,  IDEA,  AND  CONCEP- 
TION OF  GOD 

Now  the  existence  of  this  rehgious  element,  our  expe- 
rience of  this  sense  of  dependence,  this  sentiment  of 
something  without  bounds,  is  itself  a  proof  by  implica- 
tion of  the  existence  of  its  object, —  something  on  which 
dependence  rests.  A  belief  in  this  relation  between 
the  feeling  in  us  and  its  object  independent  of  us,  comes 
unavoidably  from  the  laws  of  man's  nature;  there  is 
nothing  of  which  we  can  be  more  certain.*  A  natural 
want  in  man's  constitution  implies  satisfaction  in  some 
quarter,  just  as  the  faculty  of  seeing  implies  something 
to  correspond  to  this  faculty,  namely,  objects  to  be  seen, 
and  a  medium  of  light  to  see  by.  As  the  tendency  to 
love  implies  something  lovely  for  its  object,  so  the  reli- 
gious consciousness  implies  its  object.  If  it  is  regarded 
as  a  sense  of  absolute  dependence,  it  implies  the  abso- 
lute on  which  this  dependence  rests,  independent  of 
ourselves. 

Spiritual,  like  bodily  faculties,  act  jointly  and  not 
one  at  a  time,  and  when  the  occasion  is  given  from 
without  us  the  reason  spontaneously,  independent  of 

*The  truth  of  the  human  faculties  must  be  assumed  in  all 
arguments,  and  if  this  be  admitted  we  have  then  the  same  evi- 
dence for  spiritual  facts  as  for  the  maxims  or  the  demonstra- 
tions of  Geometry.  On  this  point  see  some  good  remarks  in 
Cudworth's  Intellectual  System;  Andover,  1838,  2  vols.  8vo.  Vol. 
II.  p.  135,  et  seq.  If  any  one  denies  the  trustworthiness  of  the 
human  faculties,  there  can  be  no  argument  with  him;  the  axioms 
of  morals  and  of  mathematics  are  ahke  nonsense  to  such  a 
reasoner.  Demonstration  presupposes  something  so  certain  it 
requires  no  demonstrating.  So  Reasoning  presupposes  the  trust- 
worthiness of  Reason, 

9 


10  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

our  forethought  and  volition,  acting  by  its  own  laws, 
gives  us,  by  intuition,  an  idea  of  that  on  which  we  de- 
pend. To  this  idea  we  give  the  name  of  God  or  Gods, 
as  it  is  represented  by  one  or  several  separate  concep- 
tions. Thus  the  existence  of  God  is  implied  by  the  nat- 
ural sense  of  dependence;  implied  in  the  religious  ele- 
ment itself ;  it  is  expressed  by  the  spontaneous  intuition 
of  reason. 

Now  men  come  to  this  idea  early.  It  is  the  logical 
condition  of  all  other  ideas ;  without  this  as  an  element 
of  our  consciousness,  or  lying  latent,  as  it  were,  and 
unrecognized  in  us,  we  could  have  no  ideas  at  all.  The 
senses  reveal  to  us  something  external  to  the  body,  and 
independent  thereof,  on  which  it  depends ;  they  tell  not 
what  it  is.  Consciousness  reveals  something  in  like 
manner,  not  the  human  spirit,  in  me,  but  its  absolute 
ground  on  which  the  spirit  depends.*  Outward  cir- 
cumstances furnish  the  occasion  by  which  we  approach 
and  discover  the  idea  of  God ;  but  they  do  not  furnish 
the  idea  itself.  That  is  a  fact  given  by  the  nature 
of  man.  Hence  some  philosophers  have  called  it  an  in- 
nate idea ;  others  a  reminiscence  of  what  the  spirit 
knew  in  a  higher  state  of  life  before  it  took  the  body. 
Both  opinions  may  be  regarded  as  rhetorical  statements 
of  the  truth  that  the  idea  of  God  is  a  fact  given  by 
man's  nature,  and  not  an  invention  or  device  of  ours. 
The  belief  in  God's  existence  therefore  is  natural,  not 
against  nature.  It  comes  unavoidably  from  the  le- 
gitimate action  of  the  intellectual  and  the  religious 
faculties,  just  as  the  belief  in  light  comes  from  using 
the  eyes,  and  belief  in  our  existence  from  mere  existing. 
The  knowledge  of  God's  existence,  therefore,  may  be 

*  I  use  the  word  spirit  to  denote  all  the  faculties  not  material 
—  as  distinguished  from  the  body. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  II 

called  in  the  language  of  philosophyv*  an  intuition  of 
EEASON ;  or  in  the  mythological  language  of  the  elder 
theology,*  a  Revelation  from  God. 

If  the  above  statement  be  correct,  then  our  belief  in 
God's  existence  does  not  depend  on  the  a  posteriori  ar- 
gument, on  considerations  drawn  from  the  order,  fitness, 
and  beauty  discovered  by  observations  made  in  the 
material  world;  nor  yet  on  the  a  priori  argument,  on 
considerations  drawn  from  the  eternal  nature  of  things, 
and  observations  made  in  the  spiritual  world.  It  de- 
pends primarily  on  no  argument  whatever ;  not  on  rea- 
soning but  reason.  The  fact  is  given  outright,  as  it 
were,  and  comes  to  the  man,  as  soon  and  as  naturally, 
as  the  consciousness  of  his  own  existence,  and  is  indeed 
logically  inseparable  from  it,  for  we  cannot  be  conscious 
of  ourselves  except  as  dependent  beings. j* 

This  intuitive  perception  of  God  is  afterwards  funda- 
mentally and  logically  established  by  the  a  priori  argu- 
ment, and  beautifully  confirmed  by  the  a  posteriori  ar- 

*  English  writers  have  rarely  attempted  to  account  philo- 
sophically for  the  origin  of  the  idea  of  God.  They  have  usuaUy 
assumed  this,  and  then  defended  it  by  the  various  arguments. 
See  Locke's  Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding,  Book  I.  ch. 
IV.;  and  Cousin's  Psychology,  Henry's  Translation;  Hartford, 
1834,  p.  46,  et  seq.,  and  181  et  seq.  See  some  valuable  remarks 
in  Cudworth's  Intellectual  System,  &c..  Vol.  II.  p.  143,  et  seq. 
See  the  Christian  Examiner  for  January,  1840,  p.  309,  et  seq., 
and  the  works  there  cited.  See  also  the  article  of  President 
Hopkins  in  American  Quarterly  Observer,  No.  H.;  Boston, 
1833,  and  Ripley's  Philosophical  Miscellanies,  Vol.  I.  p.  40,  et 
seq.  and  203,  et  seq.  Some  valuable  thoughts  on  this  subject 
may  also  be  found  in  De  Wette,  Das  Wesen  des  Christhchen 
Glaubens,  vom  Standpunkte  des  Glaubens  dargesteUt ;  Basel. 
1846,  8  4,  et  ant.  See  too  Wirth,  die  speculative  Idee  Gottes, 
Stuttgart;  1845,  and  Sengler,  die  Idee  Gottes,  Heidelberg;  1845^ 

tThis  doctrine  seems  to  be  impUed  in  the  writings  of  the 
Alexandrian  fathers. 


12  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

gument;  but  we  are  not  left  without  the  idea  of  God 
till  we  become  metaphysicians  and  naturalists  and  so 
can  discover  it  by  much  thinking.  It  comes  spontane- 
ously, by  a  law,  of  whose  action  we  are,  at  first,  not 
conscious.  The  belief  always  precedes  the  proof,  intu- 
ition giving  the  thing  to  be  reasoned  about.  Unless 
this  intuitive  function  be  performed,  it  is  not  possible 
to  attain  a  knowledge  of  God.  For  all  arguments  to 
that  end  must  be  addressed  to  a  faculty  which  cannot 
originate  the  idea  of  God,  but  only  confirm  it  when 
given  from  some  other  quarter.  Any  argument  is  vain 
when  the  logical  condition  of  all  argument  has  not  been 
complied  with.*  If  the  reasoner,  as  Dr.  Clarke  has 
done,f  presuppose  that  his  opponent  has  "  no  tran- 
scendent idea  of  God,"  all  his  reasoning  could  never 
produce  it,  howsoever  capable  of  confirming  and  legiti- 
mating that  idea  if  already  existing  in  the  conscious- 
ness. As  we  may  speak  of  sights  to  the  blind,  and 
sounds  to  the  deaf,  and  convince  them  that  things  called 
sights  and  sounds  actually  exist,  but  can  furnish  no 
idea  of  those  things  when  there  is  no  corresponding 
sensation,  so  we  may  convince  a  man's  understanding  of 

*  Kant  has  abundantly  shown  the  insufficiency  of  all  the 
philosophical  arguments  for  the  existence  of  God,  the  physico- 
theological,  the  cosmological,  and  the  ontological.  See  the  Kritik 
der  reinen  Vernunft,  7th  edition,  p.  444.  et  seq.  But  the  fact 
of  the  idea  given  in  man's  nature  cannot  be  got  rid  of.  It  is 
not  a  little  curious  that  none  of  the  Christian  writers  seems  to 
have  attempted  an  ontological  proof  of  the  existence  of  God 
till  the  eleventh  century,  when  Anselm  led  the  way.  See  Bouch- 
itt^  Histoire  des  Preuves  de  1'  Existence  de  Dieu  d^puis  les 
Temps  les  plus  r^cul6s  jusqu'au  Monologium  d'Anselme,  in  the 
Mem.  de  I'Acad.  des  Sciences  Morales,  &c.  Tom.  I.  Savants 
Etrang^res;  Paris,  1841,  p.  395,  et  seq.,  and  his  second  M^moire, 
p.  461,  et  seq.,  which  brings  the  history  down  to  that  time.  Tom. 
II.  p.  59,  et  seq.  77  et  seq. 

t  In  his  Demonstration  of  the  Bemg  end  Attributes  of  God. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  13 

the  soundness  of  our  argumentation,  but  yet  give  him 
no  idea  of  God  unless  he  have  previously  an  intuitive 
sense  thereof.  Without  the  intuitive  perception,  the 
metaphysical  argument  gives  us  only  an  idea  of  ab- 
stract power  and  wisdom;  the  argument  from  design 
gives  only  a  limited  and  imperfect  cause  for  the  limited 
and  imperfect  effects.  Neither  reveals  to  us  the  Infi- 
nite God. 

The  idea  of  God  then  transcends  all  possible  exter- 
nal experience  and  is  given  by  intuition,  or  natural  rev- 
elation, which  comes  of  the  joint  and  spontaneous  ac- 
tion of  reason  and  the  religious  element.*  Now  theo- 
retically this  idea  involves  no  contradiction  and  is 
perfect:  that  is,  when  the  proper  conditions  are  com- 
plied with,  and  nothing  disturbs  the  free  action  of  the 
spirit,  we  receive  the  idea  of  a  being,  infinite  in  power, 
wisdom  and  goodness;  that  is  infinite,  or  perfect,  in 
all  possible  relations.!  But  practicaUi^,  in  the  majority 
of  cases,  these  conditions  are  not  observed;  men  at- 
tempt to  form  a  complex  and  definite  conception  of 
God.  The  primitive  idea,  etern£il  in  man,  is  lost  sight 
of.  The  conception  of  God,  as  men  express  it  in  their 
language,  is  always  imperfect;  sometimes  self -contra- 
dictory and  impossible.  Human  actions,  human 
thoughts,  human  feelings,  yes,  human  passions  and  all 
the  limitations  of  mortal  men,  are  collected  about  the 
idea  of  God.  Its  primitive  simpHcity  and  beauty  are 
lost.  It  becomes  self -destructive ;  and  the  conception  of 
God  as  many  minds  set  it  forth,  like  that  of  a  griffin, 

*  The  idea  of  God,  like  that  of  liberty  and  immortality,  may 
be  called  a  judgment  a  priori,  and  from  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  transcends  all  objective  experience,  as  it  is  logically  ante- 
rior to  it. 

t  See  Cudworth's  InteUectual  System,  Chap.  IV.  §  8-10,  VoL 
I.  p.  213,  et  seq. 


14  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

or  centaur,  or  "  men  whose  heads  do  grow  beneath 
their  shoulders,"  is  self -contradictory ;  the  notion  of  a 
being  who,  from  the  very  nature  of  things,  could  not 
exist.  They  for  the  most  part  have  been  called  atheists 
who  denied  the  popular  conception  of  God,  showed  its 
inconsistency,  and  proved  that  such  a  being  could  not 
be.*  The  early  Christians  and  all  the  most  distin- 
guished and  religious  philosophers  have  borne  that 
name,  simply  because  they  were  too  far  above  men  for 
their  sympathy,  too  far  above  them  for  their  compre- 
hension, and  because,  therefore,  their  idea  of  God  was 

*The  best  men  have  often  been  branded  as  atheists.  The 
following  benefactors  of  the  world  have  borne  that  stigma: 
Thales,  Anaxagoras,  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle, 
Xenophanes,  and  both  the  Zenos;  Cicero,  Seneca,  Abelard,  Gali- 
leo, Kepler,  Des  Cartes,  Leibnitz,  Wolf,  Locke,  Cudworth,  Sam- 
uel Clarke,  Jacob  Bohme;  Kant,  and  Fichte,  and  Schelling,  and 
Hegel,  are  still  under  the  ban.  See  some  curious  details  of  this 
subject  in  Reimmann's  Historia  Atheismi,  etc.;  1725,  a  dull 
book  but  profitable.  See  also  a  Dissertation  by  Buchwaldius, 
De  Controversiis  recentioribus  de  Atheismo;  Viteb.  1716,  1  Vol. 
quarto,  and  "  Historical  Sketch  of  Atheism,"  by  Dr.  Pond,  in 
American  Biblical  Repository,  for  Oct.  1839,  p.  320,  et  seq. 

Possevin,  in  his  Bibliotheca,  puts  Luther  and  Melanchthon 
among  the  atheists.  Mersenne  (in  his  Comment,  in  Geneseos), 
says,  that  in  1622,  there  were  50,000  atheists  in  Paris  alone, 
often  a  dozen  in  a  single  house.  (Biographie  Universelle,  Tom. 
XXVIII.  p.  390).  See  some  curious  detaiils  respecting  the  liter- 
ary treatment  of  the  subject  in  J.  G.  Walch's  Philosophisches 
Lexicon,  2d  ed.;  Leip.  1733,  pp.  134-146.  Dr.  Woods,  in  his 
translation  of  Knapp's  Theology  (New  York,  1831,  2  vols.  8vo.), 
in  a  note  borrowed  from  Hahn's  Lehrbuch  des  Christ.  Glaubens, 
p.  175,  et  seq.,  places  Dr.  Priestley  among  the  modern  athe- 
ists, where  also  he  puts  De  La  Mettrie,  Von  Holbach  (or  La- 
Grange),  Helvetius,  Diderot,  and  d'Alembert.  Such  catalogues 
are  instructive.  But  see  Clarke's  Classification  of  Atheists  at 
the  beginning  of  the  discourse,  in  his  works.  Vol.  II.  p.  521,  ct 
seq. 

The  charge  of  impiety  is  always  brought  against  such  as 
differ  from  the  public  faith,  especially  if  they  rise  above  it. 
Thus  Hicks  declared  Tillotson  "the  gravest  Atheist  that  ever 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  15 

sublimer  and  nearer  the  truth  than  that  held  by  their 
opponents. 

Now  the  conception  we  form  of  God  under  the  most 
perfect  circumstances,  must  form  the  nature  of  things, 
fall  short  of  the  reality.  The  Finite  can  form  no  ade- 
quate conception  or  imagination  of  the  Infinite.  All 
the  conceptions  of  the  human  mind  are  conceived  under 
the  limitation  of  time  and  space;  of  dependence  on 
a  cause  exterior  to  itself;  while  the  Infinite  is  necessa- 
rily free  from  these  limitations.  A  man  can  compre- 
hend no  form  of  being  but  his  own  finite  form,  which 
answers  to  the  Supreme  Being  even  less  than  a  grain 
of  dust  to  the  world  itself.  There  is  no  conceivable 
ratio  between  finite  and  infinite.*     Our  human  per- 

waa."  Discourse  on  Tillotson  and  Burnet  in  Lechler,  Gesch. 
Englischen  Deismus;  Stutgart,  1841,  p.  150,  et  seq.  In  1697, 
Peter  Browne,  for  a  similar  abuse  of  Toland,  was  rewarded  with 
the  office  of  a  Bishop. —  76.  p.  195.  A  curious  old  writer  says, 
"  among  the  Grecians  of  old,  those  Secretaries  of  Nature,  which 
first  made*  a  tender  of  the  natural  causes  of  lightnings  and 
tempests  to  the  rude  ears  of  men,  were  blasted  with  the  reproach 
of  Atheists,  and  fell  under  the  hatred  of  the  untutored  rabble, 
because  they  did  not,  like  them,  receive  every  extraordinary  in 
nature  as  an  immediate  expression  of  the  power  and  displeasure 
of  the  Deity."  Spencer,  Preface  to  his  Discourse  concerning 
Prodigies;  London,  1665.  Diodorus  Siculus,  Lib.  1,  p.  75,  (ed. 
Rhodoman,)  relates  an  instructive  case.  A  Roman  soldier,  in 
Egypt,  accidentally  killed  a  ca«  — killed  a  god,  for  the  cat  was 
a  popular  object  of  worship.  The  people  rose  upon  him,  and 
nothing  could  save  him  from  a  violent  death  at  the  hands  of 
the  mob.  All  religious  persecutions,  if  it  be  allowed  to  com- 
pare the  little  with  the  great,  may  be  reduced  to  this  one 
denomination.  The  heretic,  actually  or  by  implication,  killed  a 
consecrated  cat,  and  the  Orthodox  would  fain  kill  him.  But 
as  the  same  thing  is  not  sacred  in  all  countries,  (for  even 
asses  have  their  worshippers,)  the  cat-killer,  though  an  abomi- 
nation in  Egypt,  would  be  a  great  saint  in  some  lands  where 
dogs  are  worshipped.  ^  , 

*  M.  Cousin  thinks  God  is  comprehensible  by  the  human  spirit, 
and  even  attempts  to  construct  the  "inteUectual  existence'*  of 


16  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

sonality  *  gives  a  false  modification  to  all  our  concep- 
tions of  the  Infinite.  But  if,  not  resting  in  a  merely, 
sentimental  consciousness  of  God,  which  is  vague,  and 
alone  leads  rather  to  pantheistic  mysticism  than  to  a 
reasonable  faith,  we  take  the  fact  given  in  our  nature  — 
the  primitive  idea  of  God,  as  a  being  of  infinite  power, 
wisdom,  and  goodness  involves  no  contradiction.  This 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  faithful  expression  of  the  idea 
that  words  can  convey.  This  language  does  not  define 
the  nature  of  God,  but  distinguishes  our  idea  of  him, 
from  all  other  ideas  and  conceptions  whatever.  Some 
great  religious  souls  have  been  content  with  this  native 
idea ;  have  found  it  satisfactory  both  to  faith  and  rea- 
son, and  confessed  with  the  ancients,  that  no  man  by 
searching  could  perfectly  find  out  God.  Others  project 
their  own  limitations  upon  their  conception  of  God, 
making  him  to  appear  such  a  one  as  themselves;  thus 
they  reverse  the  saying  of  scripture,  and  creating  a 
phantom  in  their  own  image,  call  it  God.  Thus  while 
the  idea  of  God,  as  a  fact  given  in  man's  nature,  and 
affording  a  consistent  representation  of  its  object,  is 

God.  Creation  he  makes  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  con- 
ceive of!  See  his  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Philosophy, 
Linberg's  Translation,  p.  132-143.  See  also  Ripley,  Phil.  Misc. 
Vol.  I.  p.  271,  et  seq.  One  would  naturally  think  human  pre- 
sumption could  go  no  further;  but  this  pleasing  illustration  is 
dispelled  by  the  perusal  of  some  of  his  opponents. 

*  Zenophanes  saw  further  into  the  secret  than  some  others, 
when  he  said,  that  if  horses  or  lions  had  hands  and  were  to 
represent  each  his  Deity,  it  would  be  a  horse  or  a  lion,  for 
these  animals  would  impose  their  limitations  on  the  Godhead 
just  as  man  has  done.  See  the  passage  in  Eusebius,  Praep.  Ev. 
XIII.  13,  and  Clemens  Alex.  Strom.  V.  14. 

The  late  excellent  Dr.  Arnold  goes  to  the  other  extreme  and 
says,  "  It  is  only  in  God  in  Christ  that  I  can,  in  my  present  state 
of  being,  conceive  any  thing  at  all.  (!)  Life,  etc.;  New  York, 
1845,  Chap.  VII.    Letter  61,  p.  212. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  17 

permanent  and  alike  in  all ;  while  a  meiely  sentimental 
consciousness  or  feeling  of  God,  though  vague  and 
mysterious  is  always  the  same  in  itself,  the  popular 
conception  of  God  is  of  the  most  various  and  evanescent 
character,  and  is  not  the  same  in  any  two  ages  or  men. 
The  idea  is  the  substance;  the  conception  a  transient 
phenomenon,  which  at  best  only  imperfectly  represents 
the  substance.  To  possess  the  idea  of  God,  though 
latent  in  us,  is  unavoidable ;  to  feel  its  comfort  is  nat- 
ural; to  dwell  in  the  sentiment  of  God  is  delightful; 
but  to  frame  an  adequate  conception  of  deity,  and  set 
this  forth  in  words,  is  not  only  above  human  capability, 
but  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things.  The  abyss  of 
God,  is  not  to  be  fathomed  save  by  Him  who  is  all-in- 
all.* 

*  See  Parker's  Sermons  of  Theism,  Atheism,  and  the  Pc^ular 
Theology;  Boston,  1853,  Serm.  I. 

Ill— 2 


CHAPTER  III 
POWER  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT 

Now  this  inborn  religious  faculty  is  the  basis  and 
cause  of  all  religion.  Without  this  internal  religious 
element,  either  man  could  not  have  any  religious  no- 
tions, nor  become  religious  at  all,  or  else  religion  would 
be  something  foreign  to  his  nature,  which  he  might  yet 
be  taught  mechanically  from  without,  as  bears  are 
taught  to  dance,  and  parrots  to  talk;  but  which,  like 
this  acquired  and  unnatural  accomplishment  of  the 
beast  and  the  bird,  would  divert  him  from  his  true 
nature  and  perfection,  rendering  him  a  monster,  but  less 
of  a  man  than  he  would  be  without  the  superfetation 
of  this  religion  upon  him.  Without  a  moral  faculty, 
we  could  have  no  duties  in  respect  to  men;  without  a 
religious  faculty,  no  duties  in  respect  of  God.  The 
foundation  of  each  is  in  man,  not  out  of  him.  If  man 
have  not  a  religious  element  in  his  nature,  miraculous 
or  other  "  revelations  "  can  no  more  render  him  re- 
ligious than  fragments  of  sermons  and  leaves  of  the 
Bible  can  make  a  lamb  religious  when  mixed  and  eaten 
with  its  daily  food.  The  law,  the  duty,  and  the  des- 
tiny of  man,  as  of  all  God's  creatures,  are  writ  in  him- 
self, and  by  the  Almighty's  hand.*     The  religious  ele- 

*  See  the  treatise  of  Cicero  on  the  foundation  of  duties  in  the 
essay  De  Legibus,  Lib.  I.  It  may  surprise  some  men  that  a 
Pagan  should  come  at  the  truth  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of 
all  moral  obligation,  while  so  many  Christian  moralists  have 
shot  wide  of  the  mark.  See  the  discussion  of  the  same  subject, 
and  a  very  different  conclusion,  in  Paley's  Moral  Philosophy, 
and  Dymond's  Essays.  See  the  heathen  witnesses  collected  in 
Taylor,  Elements  of  the  Civil  Law;  Lond.  1786,  p.  100,  et  seq. 

18 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  19 

ment  existing  within  us,  and  this  alone,  tenders  religion 
the  duty,  the  privilege,  and  the  welfare  of  mankind. 
Thus  religion  is  not  a  superinduction  upon  the  race, 
as  some  would  make  it  appear;  not  an  after-thought  of 
God  interpolated  in  human  affairs,  when  the  work  was 
otherwise  complete;  but  it  is  an  original  necessity  of 
our  nature ;  the  religious  element  is  deep  and  essentially 
laid  in  the  very  constitution  of  man. 

I.  Now,  this  religious  element  is  universal.  This 
may  be  proved  in  several  ways.  Whatever  exists  in  the 
fundamental  nature  of  one  man,  exists  likewise  in  all 
men,  though  in  different  degrees  and  variously  modi- 
fied by  different  circumstances.  Human  nature  is  the 
same  in  the  men  of  all  races,  ages,  and  countries.  Man 
remains  always  identical,  only  the  differing  circum- 
stances of  climate  condition,  culture,  race,  nation,  and 
individual,  modify  the  manifestations  of  what  is  at 
bottom  the  same.  Races,  ages,  nations,  and  individ- 
uals, differ  only  in  the  various  degrees  they  possess  of 
particular  faculties,  and  in  the  development,  or  the 
neglect  of  these  faculties.  When,  therefore,  it  is  shown 
that  the  religious  sentiment  exists  as  a  natural  princi- 
ple in  any  one  man,  its  existence  in  all  other  men,  that 
are,  were,  or  shall  be,  follows  unavoidably  from  the 
unity  of  human  nature. 

Again,  the  universality  of  the  religious  element  is 
confirmed  by  historical  arguments,  which  also  have  some 
force.  We  discover  religious  phenomena  in  all  lands, 
wherever  man  has  advanced  above  the  primitive  condi- 
tion of  mere  animal  wildness.  Of  course  there  must 
have  been  a  period  in  his  development  when  the  religious 
faculties  had  not  come  to  conscious  activity:  but  after 
that  state  of  spiritual  infancy  is  passed  by,  religious 


£0  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

emotions  appear  in  the  rudest,  and  most  civilized  state ; 
among  the  cannibals  of  New  Zealand,  and  the  refined 
voluptuaries  of  old  Babylon ;  in  the  Esquimaux  fisher- 
man and  the  Parisian  philosopher.  The  subsequent 
history  of  men  shows  no  period  in  which  these  phe- 
nomena do  not  appear ;  man  worships,  feels  dependence, 
and  accountability,  religious  fear  or  hope,  and  give 
signs  of  these  spiritual  emotions  all  the  world  over.  No 
nation  with  fire  and  garments  has  been  found  so  sav- 
age that  they  have  not  attained  this ;  none  so  refined  as 
to  outgrow  it.  The  widest  observation,  therefore  as 
well  as  a  philosophical  deduction  from  the  nature  of 
man,  warrants  the  conclusion  that  this  sentiment  is 
universal.* 

But  at  first  glance  there  are  some  apparent  excep- 
tions to  this  rule.  A  few  persons  from  time  to  time 
arise  and  claim  the  name  of  atheist.  But  even  these 
admit  they  feel  this  religious  tendency ;  they  acknowl- 
edge a  sense  of  dependence,  which  they  refer,  not  to 
the  sound  action  of  a  natural  element  in  their  constitu- 
tion, but  to  a  disease  thereof,  to  the  influence  of  cul- 
ture, or  the  instruction  of  their  nurses,  and  count  it  an 
obstinate  disease  of  their  mind,  or  else  a  prejudice, 
early  imbibed  and  not  easily  removed. f  Even  if  some 
one  could  be  found  who  denied  that  he  ever  felt  any 
religious  emotion  whatever,  however .  feebly  —  this 
would  prove  nothing  against  the  universality  of  its  ex- 

•Empirical  observation  alone  would  not  teach  the  universality 
of  this  element,  unless  it  were  detected  in  each  man,  for  a  gen- 
eralization can  never  go  beyond  the  facts  it  embraces;  but 
observation,  so  far  as  it  goes,  confirms  the  abstract  conclusion 
which  we  reach  independent  of  observation. 

t  See  Hume's  Natural  History  of  Religion,  Introduction.  Es- 
says; Lond.  1S22,  Vol.  II.  p.  379. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  21 

istence,  and  no  more  against  the  genial  rule  of  its 
manifestation,  than  the  rare  fact  of  a  child  born  with  a 
single  arm  proves  against  the  general  rule,  that  man 
by  nature  has  two  arms.* 

Again,  travelers  tell  us  some  nations  with  consid- 
erable civilization,  have  no  God,  no  priests,  no  wor- 
ship, and  therefore  give  no  sign  of  the  existence  of  the 
religious  element  in  them.  Admitting  they  state  a 
fact,  we  are  not  to  conclude  the  religious  element  is 
wanting  in  the  savages;  only  that  they,  like  infants, 
have  not  attained  the  proper  stage,  when  we  could  dis- 
cover signs  of  its  action.  But  these  travelers  are  often 
mistaken. f     Their   observations   have,   in   such   cases, 

*  One  of  the  most  remarkable  atheists  of  the  present  day 
is  M.  Comte,  author  of  the  valuable  and  sometimes  profound 
work  Cours  de  Philosophie  positive;  Paris,  1830-42,  6  vols.  8vo. 
He  glories  in  the  name,  but  in  many  places  gives  evidence  of 
the  religious  element  existing  in  him,  in  no  small  power.  Sec 
Cudworth's  Intellectual  System,  etc.,  Ch.  IV.  §  1-5.  Some  one 
says,  "No  man  is  a  consistent  Atheist  —  if  such  be  possible  — 
who  admits  the  existence  of  any  general  law." 

t  It  seems  surprising  that  so  acute  a  philosopher  as  Locke 
(Essays,  B.  I.  ch.  4,  §  8)  should  prove  a  negative  by  hearsay, 
and  assert  on  such  evidence  as  Rhoe,  Jo.  de  L^ry,  Martini6rc, 
Torry,  Ovington,  etc.,  that  there  were  "whole  nations  amongst 
whom  there  was  to  be  found  no  notion  of  a  God,  no  religion.** 
See  the  able  remarks  of  his  friend  Shaftesbury  —  who  is  most 
unrighteously  reckoned  a  speculative  enemy  to  religion  —  against 
this  opinion,  in  his  Characteristics;  Lond.  1758,  Vol.  IV.  p.  81, 
et  seq.  8th  Letter  to  a  Student,  etc.  Steller  declares  the 
Kamschatkans  have  no  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being,  yet  gives  an 
account  of  their  mythology!  See  Pritchard,  Researches  into 
the  Physical  History  of  Mankind;  Lond.  1841,  et  seq.  Vol.  IV. 
p.  499.  So  intelligent  a  writer  as  Mr.  Norton  says  that  "in 
the  popular  religion  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  there  was  no 
recognition  of  God,"  Evidences  of  the  Genuineness  of  the 
Gospels;  Boston,  1837,  et  seq.  Vol.  III.  p.  13.  This  example 
shows  the  caution  with  which  we  are  to  read  less  exact  writers 
who  deny  that  certain  savages  have  any  religion.  See  examples 
of  this  sort  collected,   for  a  diflFerent  purpose,  m  Monboddo, 


g2  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

been  superficial,  made  with  but  a  slight  knowledge  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  nation  they  treat. 
And,  besides,  their  prejudice  blinded  their  eyes.  They 
looked  for  a  regular  worship,  doctrines  of  religion, 
priests,  temples,  images,  forms,  and  ceremonies.  But 
there  is  one  stage  of  religious  consciousness  in  which 
none  of  these  signs  appear ;  and  yet  the  religious  ele- 
ment is  at  its  work.  The  travelers,  not  finding  the 
usual  signs  of  worship,  denied  the  existence  of  worship 
itself,  and  even  of  any  religious  consciousness  in  the 
nation.  But  if  they  had  found  a  people  ignorant  of 
cookery  and  without  the  implements  of  that  art,  it 
would  be  quite  as  wise  to  conclude  from  this  negative 
testimony,  that  the  nation  never  ate  nor  drank.  On 
such  evidence,  the  early  Christians  were  convicted  of 
atheism  by  the  pagans  and  subsequently  the  pagans 
by  the  Christians.* 

Origin  and  Progress  of  Language,  Qd  Ed.;  Edinburgh,  1774,  Vol. 
I.  book  II.  chap.  III.  where  see  much  more  evidence  to  show  that 
races  of  men  exist  with  tails.  Some  writers  seem  to  think 
Christianity  is  never  safe  until  they  have  shown,  as  they  fancy, 
that  man  cannot,  by  the  natural  exercise  of  his  faculties,  attain 
a  knowledge  of  even  the  simplest  and  most  obvious  religious 
truths.  Some  foolish  books  have  been  based  on  this  idea,  which 
is  yet  the  staple  of  many  sermons.  See  on  this  head  the  val- 
uable remarks  of  M.  Comte  ubi  supra.  Vol.  V.  p.  32,  et  seq. 

It  is  not  long  since  the  whole  nation  of  the  Chinese  were 
accused  of  Atheism,  and  that  by  writers  so  respectable  as  Le 
Pere  de  Sainte  Marie,  and  Le  P^re  Longobardi.  See,  who  will, 
Leibnitz's  refutation  of  the  charge,  Opp.  ed.  Dutens,  Vol.  IV. 
Part  1,  p.  170,  et  seq. 

*Winslow,  with  others,  at  first  declared  the  American  In- 
dians had  no  religion  or  knowledge  of  God,  but  he  afterwards 
corrected  his  mistake.  See  Francis's  Life  of  Eliot,  p.  32,  et 
seq.  See  also  Catlin's  Letters,  etc.,  on  the  North  American  In- 
dians; New  York,  1841,  Vol.  I.  p.  156.  Even  Meiners,  Kritische 
Geschichte  der  Religionen,  Vol.  I.  p.  11,  12,  admits  there  is 
no  nation  without  religious  observances.  See  in  Pritchard,  1.  c. 
VoL  I.  p.  188,  the  statements  relative  to  the  Esquimaux,  and 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  23 

There  is  still  one  other  case  of  apparent  exception 
to  the  rule.  Some  persons  have  been  found,  who,  in 
early  childhood  were  separated  from  human  society  and 
grew  up  towards  the  years  of  maturity  in  an  isolated 
state,  having  no  contact  with  their  fellow-mortals. 
These  give  no  signs  of  any  religious  element  in  their 
nature.  But  other  universal  faculties  of  the  race,  the 
tendency  to  laugh,  and  to  speak  articulate  words,  give 
quite  as  little  sign  of  their  existence.*  Yet  when  these 
unfortunate  persons  are  exposed  to  the  ordinary  influ- 
ence of  life,  the  religious,  like  other  faculties,  does  its 
work.  Hence  we  may  conclude  it  existed,  though  dor- 
mant until  the  proper  conditions  of  its  development 
were  supplied. 

These  three  apparent  exceptions  serve  only  to  con- 
firm the  rule  that  the  rehgious  sentiment,  like  the  power 
of  attention,  thought,  and  love,  is  universal  in  the  race. 
Yet  it  is  plain  that  there  was  a  period  in  which  the 
primitive  wild  man,  without  language  or  self-conscious- 
ness, gave  no  sign  of  any  religious  faculty  at  all,  still 
the  original  element  lay  in  this  baby-man. 

his  correction  of  the  erroneous  and  iU-natured  accounts  of 
others.  If  any  nation  is  destitute  of  religious  opinions  and 
observances,  it  must  be  the  Esquimaux  and  the  Bushmans  of 
South  Africa,  who  seem  to  be  the  lowest  of  the  human  race 
But  it  is  clear,  from  the  statement  of  travellers  and  mission- 
aries, that  both  have  rehgious  sentiments  and  opinions.  lUc 
heathen  philosophers,  admitted  it  as  a  fact  universally  acknowl- 
edged  that  there  was  a  God.  ^  .^  i„ 

*  See  a  collection  of  the  most  remarkable  of  these  cas^  in 
Jahn's  Appendix  Hermeneuticae,  etc.;  Viennae,  l^^f,  VoL  II.  p. 
208,  et  seq.  and  the  authors  there  cited.  Monboddo,  Ana«it 
Metaphysics,  etc.;  Edinburgh,  1779,  et  seq.  Vol.  III.  Book  11. 
Chap"^  L  ank  Appendix,  Chap.  III.  Col.  Sleeman's  account  of 
"W'olves  nurtu^g  Children  in  thdr JDe-;'  ^'y^^^^^^^ 
land,  1852.  Windsor's  Papuans,  Lond.  1853.  Capt.  uioso 
commiwic^tion  to  the  American  Geog.  Soc.  Dec.,  1853. 


U  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

However,  like  other  faculties,  this  is  possessed  In 
different  degrees  by  different  races,  nations,  and  indi- 
viduals, and  at  particular  epochs  of  the  world's  or  the 
individual's  history  acquires  a  predominance  it  has  not 
at  other  times.  It  seems  God  never  creates  two  races, 
nations,  or  men,  with  precisely  the  same  endowments. 
There  is  a  difference,  more  or  less  striking,  between  the 
intellectual,  aesthetic,  and  moral  development  of  two 
races,  or  nations,  or  even  between  two  men  of  the  same 
race  and  nation.  This  difference  seems  to  be  the  ef- 
fect, not  merely  of  the  different  circumstances  whereto 
they  are  exposed,  but  also  of  the  different  endowments 
with  which  they  set  out.  If  we  watch  in  history  the 
gradual  development  and  evolution  of  the  human  race, 
we  see  that  one  nation  takes  the  lead  in  the  march  of 
mind,  pursues  science,  literature,  and  the  arts ;  another 
in  war,  and  the  practical  business  of  political  thrift, 
while  a  third  nation  prominent  neither  for  science  nor 
political  skill,  takes  the  lead  in  religion,  and  in  the  com- 
parative strength  of  its  religious  consciousness  sur- 
passes both. 

Three  forms  of  monotheistic  religion  have,  at  vari- 
ous times,  come  up  in  the  world's  history.  Two  of 
them  at  this  moment  perhaps  outnumber  the  votaries 
of  all  other  religions,  and  divide  between  them  the  more 
advanced  civilization  of  mankind.  These  three  are  the 
Mosaic,  the  Christian,  and  the  Mahometan;  all  recog- 
nizing the  unity  of  God,  the  religious  nature  of  man, 
and  the  relation  between  God  and  man.  All  of  these, 
surprising  as  it  is,  came  from  one  family  of  men,  the 
Shemitic,  who  spoke,  in  substance,  the  same  language; 
lived  in  the  same  country,  and  had  the  same  customs 
and  political  institutions.  Even  that  widespread  and 
more  monstrous  form  of  rehgion,  which  our  fathers  had 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  25 

in  the  wilds  of  Europe,  betrays  its  liktness  to  this  Ori- 
ental stock ;  and  that  form,  still  earlier,  which  dotted 
Greece  all  over  with  its  temples,  filling  the  isles  of  the 
Mediterranean  with  its  solemn  and  mysterious  chant, 
came  apparently  from  the  same  source.*  The  beauti- 
ful spirit  of  the  Greek  modified,  enlarged  and  em- 
bellished what  Oriental  piety  at  first  called  down  from 
the  Empyrean.  The  nations  now  at  the  head  of  mod- 
ern civilization,  have  not  developed  independently  their 
power  of  creative  genius,  so  to  say ;  for  each  form  of 
worship,  that  has  prevailed  with  them,  was  originally 
derived  from  some  other  race.  These  nations  are  more 
scientific  than  religious;  reflective  rather  than  spon- 
taneous ;  utilitarian  more  than  reverential ;  and,  so  far 
as  history  relates,  have  never  yet  created  a  permanent 
form  of  religion  which  has  extended  to  other  families 
of  men.  Their  faith,  like  their  choicer  fruits,  is  an 
importation  from  abroad,  not  an  indigenous  plant, 
though  now  happily  naturalized,  and  rendered  pro- 
ductive in  their  soil.  Of  all  nations  hitherto  known, 
these  are  the  most  disposed  to  reflection,  literature  sci- 
ence, and  the  practical  arts ;  while  the  Shemitish  tribes 
in  their  early  age  were  above  all  others  religious,  and 
have  had  an  influence  in  religious  history  entirely  dis- 
proportionate to  their  numbers,  their  art,  their  science, 
or  their  laws.  Out  of  the  heart  of  this  ancient  family 
of  nations  flowed  forth  that  triple  stream  of  pious  life, 
which  even  now  gives  energy  to  the  pulsations  of  the 
world.  Egypt  and  Greece  have  stirred  the  intellect  of 
mankind;  and  spoken  to  our  love  of  the  grand,  the 

*This  Orientalism  of  the  religious  opinions  among  the  Euro- 
peans has  led  to  some  very  absurd  conceits;  see  a  notorious  in- 
stance in  Davie's  Mythology  of  the  Druids.  See  also  La  Re- 
ligion des  Gaulois,  etc.,  par  le  R.  P.  Dom  [Jacques  Martin]; 
Paris,  172T,  2  vols.  4to. 


26  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

beautiful,  the  true,  to  faculties  that  lie  deep  in  us. 
But  this  Oriental  people  have  touched  the  soul  of  men, 
and  awakened  reverence  for  the  good,  the  holy,  the 
altogether  beautiful,  which  lies  in  the  profoundest  deep 
of  all.  The  religious  element  appears  least  conspic- 
uous it  may  be,  in  some  nations  of  Australia  —  per- 
haps the  most  barbarous  of  men.  With  savages  in 
general  it  is  in  its  infancy,  like  all  the  nobler  attributes 
of  man,*  but  as  they  develop  their  nature,  this  faculty 
becomes  more  and  more  apparent. 

II.  Again;  this  element  is  indestructible  in  human 
nature.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  caprice  within,  nor 
external  circumstances,  war  or  peace,  freedom  or  slav- 
ery, ignorance  or  refinement,  wholly  to  abolish  or  de- 
stroy it.  Its  growth  may  be  retarded,  or  quickened; 
its  power  misdirected,  or  suffered  to  flow  in  its  proper 
channel.  But  no  violence  from  within,  no  violence  from 
without,  can  ever  destroy  this  element.  It  were  as 
easy  to  extirpate  hunger  and  thirst  from  the  sound 
living  body,  as  this  element  from  the  spirit.  It  may 
sleep.  It  never  dies.  Kept  down  by  external  force 
to-day,  it  flames  up  to  heaven  in  streams  of  light  to- 
morrow. When  perverted  from  its  natural  course,  it 
writes,  in  devastation,  its  chronicles  of  wrongs, —  a 
horrid  page  of  human  history,  which  proves  its  awful 
power,  as  the  strength  of  the  human  muscle  is  proved 
by  the  distortions  of  the  maniac.  Sensual  men,  who 
hate  the  restraints  of  religion,  who  know  nothing  of 
its  encouragements,  strive  to  pluck  up  by  the  roots  this 
plant  which  God  has  set  in  the  midst  of  the  garden. 
But  there  it  stands  —  the  tree  of  knowledge  the  tree 

*  M.  Comte  takes  a  very  different  view  of  the  matter,  and  has 
both  fact  and  philosophy  against  him. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  27 

of  life.  Even  such  as  boast  the  name  of  infidel  and 
atheist  find,  unconsciously,  repose  in  its  wide  shadow, 
and  refreshment  in  its  fruit.  It  blesses  obedient  men. 
He  who  violates  the  divine  law,  and  thus  would  wring 
this  feeling  from  his  heart,  feels  it,  hke  a  heated  iron, 
in  the  marrow  of  his  bones. 

III.  Still  further;  this  religious  element  is  the 
strongest  and  deepest  in  human  nature.  It  depends  on 
nothing  outside,  conventional  or  artificial.  It  is  iden- 
tical in  all  men ;  not  a  similar  thing  but  the  same.  Su- 
perficially, man  differs  from  man,  in  the  less  and  more ; 
but  in  the  nature  of  the  primitive  religious  element 
all  agree,  as  in  whatever  is  deepest.  Out  of  the  pro- 
foundest  abyss  in  man  proceed  his  worship,  his 
prayer,  his  hymn  of  praise.  The  history  of  the  world 
shows  us  what  a  space  religion  fills.  She  is  the  mother 
of  philosophy  and  the  arts;  has  presided  over  the 
greatest  wars.  She  holds  now  all  nations  with  her 
unseen  hand;  restrains  their  passions,  more  powerful 
than  all  the  cunning  statutes  of  the  lawgiver ;  awakens 
their  virtue;  allays  their  sorrows  with  a  mild  comfort, 
all  her  own ;  brightens  their  hopes  with  the  purple  ray 
of  faith,  shed  through  the  sombre  curtains  of  neces- 
sity. ...        1 

Religious  emotion  often  controls  society,  mspires  the 
lawgiver  and  the  artist  —  is  the  deep-moving  principle ; 
it  has  called  forth  the  greatest  heroism  of  past  ages ; 
the  proudest  deeds  of  daring  and  endurance  have  been 
done  in  its  name.  Without  religion,  all  the  sages  of 
a  kingdom  cannot  build  a  city ;  but  with  it,  how  a  rude 
fanatic  sways  the  mass  of  men.  The  greatest  works 
of  human  art  have  risen  only  at  religion's  call.  The 
marble  is  pliant  at  her  magic  touch,  and  seems  to 


28  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

breathe  a  pious  life.  The  chiselled  stone  is  instinct 
with  a  living  soul,  and  stands  there,  silent,  yet  full  of 
hymns  and  prayers ;  an  embodied  aspiration,  a  thought 
with  wings  that  mock  at  space  and  time.  The  temr 
pies  of  the  East,  the  cathedrals  of  the  West ;  altar  and 
column  and  statue  and  image, —  there  are  the  tribute 
art  pays  to  her.  Whence  did  Michael  Angelo,  Phid- 
ias, Praxiteles,  and  all  the  mighty  sons  of  art,  who 
chronicled  their  awful  thoughts  in  stone,  shaping 
brute  matter  to  a  divine  form,  building  up  the  Pyramid 
and  Parthenon,  or  forcing  the  hard  elements  to  swell 
into  the  arch,  aspire  into  the  dome  or  the  fantastic 
tower,; — whence  did  they  draw  their  inspiration.'*  All 
their  greatest  wonders  are  wrought  in  religion's  name. 
In  the  very  dawn  of  time  genius  looks  through  the 
clouds  and  lifts  up  his  voice  in  hymns  and  songs  and 
stories  of  the  Gods;  and  the  angel  of  music  carves 
out  her  thanksgiving,  her  penitence,  her  prayers  for 
man,  on  the  unseen  air,  as  a  votive  gift  for  her.  Her 
sweetest  note,  her  most  majestic  chant,  she  breathes 
only  at  religion's  call.  Thus  it  has  always  been.  A 
thousand  men  will  readily  become  celibate  monks  for 
religion.     Would  they  for  gold,  or  ease,  or  fame? 

The  greatest  sacrifices  ever  made  are  offered  in  the 
name  of  religion.  For  this  a  man  will  forego  ease, 
peace,  friends,  society,  wife,  and  child,  all  that  mortal 
flesh  holds  dearest;  no  danger  is  too  dangerous;  no 
suffering  too  stern  to  bear,  if  religion  say  the  word. 
Simeon  the  Stylite  will  stand  years  long  on  his  pillar's 
top;  the  devotee  of  Budha  tear  off  his  palpitating 
flesh  to  serve  his  God.  The  pagan  idolater,  bowing 
down  to  a  false  image  of  stone,  renounces  his  posses- 
sions, submits  to  barbarous  and  cruel  rites,  shameful 
mutilation  of  his  limbs;   gives   the  first-born  of  his 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  29 

body  for  the  sin  of  his  soul;  casts  his  own  person  to 
destruction,  because  he  dreams  Baal,  or  Saturn,  Je- 
hovah, or  Moloch,  demands  the  sacrifice.  The  Chris- 
tian idolater,  doing  equal  homage  to  a  lying  thought, 
gives  up  common  sense,  reason,  conscience,  love  of  his 
brother,  at  the  same  fancied  mandate;  is  ready  to 
credit  most  obvious  absurdities;  accept  contradictions; 
do  what  conflicts  with  the  moral  sense;  believe  dogmas 
that  make  life  dark,  eternity  dreadful,  Man  a  worm, 
and  God  a  tyrant;  dogmas  that  make  him  count  as 
cursed  half  his  brother  men,  because  told  such  is  his 
duty,  in  the  name  of  religion.  In  this  name  Thomas 
More,  the  ablest  head  of  his  times,  will  beheve  a  bit  of 
bread  becomes  the  Almighty  God,  when  a  lewd  priest 
but  mumbles  his  juggling  Latin  and  hfts  up  his 
hands.  In  our  day,  heads  as  able  as  Thomas  More's 
believe  doctrines  quite  as  absurd,  because  taught  as 
religion  and  God's  command.  In  its  behalf,  the  fool- 
ishest  teaching  becomes  acceptable;  the  foulest  doc- 
trines, the  grossest  conduct,  crimes  that  Hke  the  fabled 
banquet  of  Thyestes,  might  make  the  sun  sicken  at 
the  sight  and  turn  back  affrighted  in  his  course^ — 
these  things  are  counted  as  beautiful,  superior  to 
reason,  acceptable  to  God.  The  wicked  man  may  bless 
his  brother  in  crime;  the  unrighteous  blast  the  holy 
with  his  curse,  and  devotees  shall  shout  "  Amen,"  to 
both  the  blessing  and  the  ban. 

On  what  other  authority  have  rites  so  bloody  been 
accepted;  or  doctrines  so  false  to  reason,  so  libellous 
of  God?  For  what  else  has  Man  achieved  such 
works,  and  made  such  sacrifice?  In  what  name  but 
this,  will  the  man  of  vast  and  far  outstretching  mind, 
the  counsellor,  the  chief,  the  sage,  the  native  king  of 
men,  forego  the  vastness  of  his  thought,  put  out  his 


so  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

spirit's  eyes,  and  bow  him  to  a  drivelling  wretch  who 
knows  nothing  but  treacherous  mummery  and  juggling 
tricks?  In  religion  this  has  been  done  from  the  first 
false  prophet  to  the  last  false  priest,  and  the  pride  of 
the  understanding  is  abashed;  the  supremacy  of  rea- 
son degraded;  the  majesty  of  conscience  trampled  on; 
the  beautifulness  of  faith  and  love  trodden  down  into 
the  mire  of  the  streets.  The  hand,  the  foot,  the  eye, 
the  ear,  the  tongue,  the  most  sacred  members  of  the 
body;  judgment,  imagination,  the  overmastering  fac- 
ulties of  mind;  justice,  mercy,  and  love,  the  fairest 
affections  of  the  soul, —  all  these  have  been  reckoned  a 
poor  and  paltry  sacrifice,  and  lopped  off  at  the  shrine 
of  God  as  things  unholy.  This  has  been  done,  not 
only  by  pagan  polytheists,  and  savage  idolaters,  but 
by  Christian  devotees,  accomplished  scholars,  the  en- 
lightened men  of  enlightened  times. 

These  melancholy  results,  which  are  but  aberrations 
of  the  religious  element,  the  disease  of  the  baby,  not 
the  soundness  of  mankind,  have  often  been  confounded 
with  religion  itself,  regarded  as  the  legitimate  fruit  of 
the  religious  faculty.  Hence  men  have  said,  such  re- 
sults prove  that  religion  itself  is  a  popular  fury ;  the 
foolishness  of  the  people;  the  madness  of  mankind. 
They  prove  a  very  different  thing.  They  show  the 
depth,  the  strength,  the  awful  power  of  that  element 
which  thus  can  overmaster  all  the  rest  of  Man  —  pas- 
sion and  conscience,  reason  and  love.  Tell  a  man 
his  interest  requires  a  sacrifice,  he  hesitates;  convince 
him  his  religion  demands  it,  and  crowds  rush  at  once 
and  joyful,  to  a  martyr's  fiery  death.  It  is  the  best 
things  that  are  capable  of  the  worst  abuse;  the  very 
abuse  may  test  the  value.* 

*On  this  theme,  see  the  forcible  and  eloquent   remarks  of 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  SI 

Professor  Whewell,  in  his  Sermons  on  the  Foundation  of  Mor- 
als, 2d  edition,  p.  28,  et  seq.,  a  work  well  worthy,  In  its  spirit 
and  general  tone,  of  his  illustrious  predecessors,  "the  Latitude 
men  about  Cambridge."  See  also  Mr.  Parker's  Sermon  Of  the 
Relation  between  the  Ecclesiastical  Institutions,  and  the  Re- 
ligious Consciousness  of  the  American  People,  1855;  and  that 
Of  the  Function  of  a  Teacher  of  Religion,  1855;  Sermons  of 
Theism,  Atheism,  and  the  Popular  Theology,  1855  Sermons  III. 
IV.  V.  VI. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  IDEA  OF  RELIGION  CONNECTED  WITH 
SCIENCE  AND  LIFE 

The  legitimate  action  of  the  religious  element  pro- 
duces reverence.  This  reverence  may  ascend  into  trust, 
hope,  and  love,  which  is  according  to  its  nature;  or 
descend  into  doubt,  fear,  and  hate,  which  is  against 
its  nature :  it  thus  rises  or  falls,  as  it  coexists  in  the  in- 
dividual, with  wisdom  and  goodness,  or  with  ignorance 
and  vice.  However  the  legitimate  and  normal  action 
of  the  religious  element  leads  ultimately,  and  of  neces- 
sity, to  reverence,  absolute  trust,  and  perfect  love  of 
God.  These  are  the  result  only  of  its  sound  and 
healthy  action. 

Now  there  can  be  but  one  kind  of  religion,  as  there 
can  be  but  one  kind  of  time  and  space.  It  may  exist 
in  different  degrees,  weak  or  powerful;  in  combination 
with  other  emotions,  love  or  hate,  with  wisdom  or  folly, 
and  thus  it  is  superficially  modified,  just  as  love,  which 
is  always  the  same  thing,  is  modified  by  the  character 
of  the  man  who  feels  it,  and  by  that  of  the  object  to 
which  it  is  directed.  Of  course,  then,  there  is  no  differ- 
ence but  of  words  between  revealed  religion  and  nat- 
ural religion,  for  all  actual  religion  is  revealed  in  us, 
or  it  could  not  be  felt,  and  all  revealed  religion  is  nat- 
ural or  it  would  be  of  no  use.*  What  is  of  use  to 
a  man  comes  upon  the  plane  of  his  consciousness,  not 

*This  distinction  between  natural  and  revealed  religion  is 
very  old;  at  least  as  old  as  the  time  or  Origen.  But  it  is 
evidently  a  distinction  in  form  not  in  substance.    The  terms 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  3S 

merely  above  it,  or  below  it.  We  may^regard  religion 
from  different  points  of  view,  and  give  corresponding 
names  to  our  partial  conceptions,  which  we  have  pur- 
posely limited,  and  so  to  speak  of  natural  and  revealed 
religion;  Monotheistic,  Polytheistic,  or  Pantheistic, 
Pagan,  Jewish,  Christian,  Mahometan  religion.  But 
in  these  cases  the  distinction,  indicated  by  the  terms, 
belongs  to  the  thinker's  mind,  not  to  religion  itself, 
the  object  of  thought.  Historical  phenomena  of  relig- 
ion vary  in  the  more  and  less.  Some  express  it  purely 
and  beautifully;  others  mingle  foreign  emotions  with 
it,  and  but  feebly  represent  the  pious  feeling. 

To  determine  the  question  what  is  absolute,  that  is 
perfect  religion, —  religion  with  no  limitation,  we  are 
not  to  gather  to  a  focus  the  scattered  rays  of  all  the 
various  forms  under  which  religion  has  appeared,  in 
history,  for  we  can  never  collect  the  absolute  from  any 
number  of  imperfect  phenomena;  and,  besides,  in  mak- 
ing the  search  and  forming  an  eclecticism  from  all  the 
historical  religious  phenomena,  we  presuppose  in  our- 
selves the  criterion  by  which  they  are  judged  namely, 
the  absolute  itself,  which  we  seek  to  construct,  and 
thus  move  only  in  a  circle,  and  end  where  we  began. 
To  answer  the  question,  we  must  go  back  to  the  prim- 
itive facts  of  religious  consciousness  within  us.  Then 
we  find  religion  is  voluntary  obedience  to  the  law 
OF  God,  inward  and  outward  obedience  to  that  law 
he  has  written  on  our  nature,  revealed  in  various  ways 
through  instinct,  reason,  conscience,  and  the  religious 
emotions.     Through  it  we  regard  Him  as  the  absolute 

seem  to  have  risen  from  taking  an  exclusive  view  of  some  posi- 
tive and  historical  form  of  religion.  All  religiom  claim  to  have 
been  miraculously  revealed. 

ni— 3 


d4i  A  DISCOUUSE  OF  RELIGION 

object  of  reverence,  faith,  and,  love.*  This  obedience 
may,  be  unconscious,  as  in  Httle  children  who  have 
known  no  contradiction  between  duty  and  desire;  and 
perhaps  involuntary  in  the  perfect  saint,  to  whom  all 
duties  are  desirable,  who  has  ended  the  contradiction  by 
willing  himself  God's  will,  and  thus  becoming  one  with 
God.  It  may  be  conscious,  as  with  many  men  whose 
strife  is  not  yet  over.  It  seems  the  highest  and  com- 
pletest  mode  of  religion  must  be  self-conscious, —  free 
goodness,  free  piety,  and  free,  self-conscious  trust  in 

God.t 

Now  there  are  two  tendencies  connected  with  relig- 
ion, one  is  speculative:  here  the  man  is  intellectually 

*  The  above  definition  or  Idea  of  Religion  is  not  given  as  the 
only  or  the  best  that  can  possibly  be  given,  but  simply  as  my 
own,  the  best  I  can  find.  If  others  have  a  better  I  shall  re- 
joice at  it.  I  will  give  some  of  the  more  striking  definitions 
that  have  been  set  forth  by  others.  Plato:  "A  Likeness  to 
God,  according  to  our  ability."  John  Smith:  "God  is  First 
Truth  and  Primitive  Goodness.  True  Religion  is  a  vigorous 
efflux  and  emanation  of  both  upon  the  Spirit  of  man,  and  there- 
fore is  called  a  Participation  of  the  Divine  Nature.  .  .  . 
Religion  is  a  heaven-born  thing;  the  seed  of  God  in  the  spirits 
of  men  whereby  they  are  formed  to  a  similitude  and  likeness 
of  Himself."  Kant :  "  Reverence  for  the  moral  law  as  a 
divine  command."  Schelling:  "The  union  of  the  Finite  and 
the  Infinite."  Fichte:  "Faith  in  a  moral  government  of  the 
world."  Hegel:  "Morality  becoming  conscious  of  the  free  uni- 
versality of  its  concrete  essence."  This  will  convey  no  idea  to 
one  not  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  phraseology  of  Hegel.  It 
seems  to  mean,  perfect  mind  becoming  conscious  of  itself. 
Schleiermacher:  "Immediate  self -consciousness  of  the  absolute 
dependence  of  all  the  finite  on  the  infinite."  Hase:  "Striving 
after  the  Absolute,  which  is  in  itself  unattainable;  but  by  love 
of  it  man  participates  of  the  divine  perfection."  Wollaston: 
"  An  obligation  to  do  what  ought  not  to  be  omitted,  and  to  for- 
bear what  ou^t  not  to  h&  dionQ:'  Jeremy  Taylor:  "The  whole 
duty  of  man,  comprehending  in  it  justice,  charity,  and  sobriety." 
For  the  opinions  of  the  ancients,  see  a  treatise  of  Nitzsch,  ia 
Studien  und  Kritiken  for  1828,  p.  527,  et  seq. 

t  See  Parker's  Sermons  of  Theism,  etc.,  Serm.  V.  and  VI. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  85 

employed  in  matters  pertaining  to  religiin,  to  God,  to 
man's  religious  nature,  and  his  relation  and  connection 
with  God.  The  result  of  this  tendency  is  Theology. 
This  is  not  religion  itself.  It  is  men's  thought  about 
religion;  the  philosophy  of  divine  things;  the  science 
of  religion.  Its  sphere  is  the  mind  of  men.  ReHgion 
and  theology  are  no  more  to  be  confounded  than  the 
stars  with  astronomy* 

While  the  religious  element,  like  the  intellectual  or 
the  moral,  or  human  nature  itself,  remains  ever  the 
same,  the  religious  consciousness  of  mankind  is  con- 
tinually progressive;  and  so  theology  which  is  the  in- 
tellectual expression  thereof,  advances,  like  all  other 
science,  from  age  to  age.  The  most  various  theological 
doctrines  exist  in  connection  with  religious  emotions, 
helping  or  hindering  man's  general  development.  The 
highest  notion  I  can  form  of  religion  is  this,  which  I 
call  the  absolute  religion:  conscious  service  of  the 
Infinite  God  by  keeping  every  law  he  has  enacted  into 
the  constitution  of  the  universe, —  service  of  Him  by 
the  normal  use,  discipline,  development,  and  delight  of 
every  limb  of  the  body,  every  faculty  of  the  spirit,  and 
so  of  all  the  powers  we  possess. 

The  other  tendency  is  practical;  here  the  man  is 
employed  in  acts  of  obedience  to  religion.     The  result 

*  Much  difficulty  has  arisen  from  this  confusion  of  Religicm 
and  Theology;  it  is  one  proximate  cause  of  that  rancorous 
hatred  which  exists  between  the  theological  parties  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  Each  connects  Religion  exclusively  with  its  own  secta- 
rian theology.  But  there  were  great  men  before  Agamemnon; 
good  men  before  Moses.  Theology  is  a  natural  product  of  the 
human  mind.  Each  man  has  some  notion  of  divine  things  — 
that  is,  a  theology;  if  he  collect  them  into  a  system,  it  is  « 
system  of  theology,  which  differs  in  some  points  from  that  of 
every  other  man  living.  There  is  but  one  Religion,  though 
many  theologies.  See  de  Wette,  Ueber  Religion  und  Theologies 
Part  I.  Ch.  I.-III.;  Part  II.  Ch.  I.-III.;  his  Dogmatik,  §  4rB, 


36  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

of  this  tendency  is  morality.  This  alone  is  not  relig- 
ion itself,  but  one  part  of  the  life  religion  demands. 
There  may  be  morality  deep  and  true  with  little  or  no 
purely  religious  consciousness,  for  a  sharp  analysis  sep- 
arates between  the  religious  and  moral  elements  in  a 
man.*  Morality  is  the  harmony  between  man's  action 
and  the  natural  law  of  God.  It  is  a  part  of  religion 
which  includes  it  "  as  the  sea  her  waves."  In  its  high- 
est form  morality  doubtless  implies  religious  emotions, 
but  not  necessarily  the  self -consciousness  thereof.  For 
though  piety,  the  love  of  God,  and  benevolence,  the 
love  of  man,  do  logically  involve  each  other,  yet  experi- 
ence shows  that  a  man  may  see  and  observe  the  dis- 
tinction between  right  and  wrong,  clearly  and  disinter- 
estedly, without  consciously  feeling  as  such,  reverence, 
or  love  of  God;  that  is,  he  may  be  truly  moral  up  to 
a  certain  point,  without  being  consciously  religious, 
though  he  cannot  be  truly  religious  without  at  the  same 
time  being  moral  also.  But  in  a  harmonious  man,  the 
two  are  practically  inseparable  as  substance  and  form. 
The  merely  moral  man  in  the  actions,  thoughts,  and 
feelings  which  relate  to  his  fellow-mortals,  obeys  the 
eternal  law  of  duty,  revealed  in  his  nature,  as  such,  and 
from  love  of  that  law,  without  regard  to  its  author. 
The  religious  man  obeys  the  same  law,  but  regards  it 

*  It  seems  plain,  that  the  ethical  and  religious  element  in  man 
are  not  the  same;  at  least,  they  are  as  unlike  as  memory  and 
imagination,  though,  like  these,  they  act  most  harmoniously 
when  in  conjunction.  It  is  true  we  cannot  draw  a  line  between 
them  as  between  sight  and  hearing,  but  this  inability  to  tell 
where  one  begins  and  the  other  ends,  is  no  argument  against  the 
separate  existence  of  the  faculties  themselves.  See  Kant,  Re- 
ligion innerhalb  der  Grenzen  der  blossen  Vernunft;  2d  Ed.,  1787, 
Pref.  p.  iii.  et  seq.  Still  religion  and  morality  are  to  be  dis- 
tinguished by  their  centre  rather  than  their  circumference;  by 
their  type  more  than  their  limit. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  37 

as  the  will  of  God.     One  rests  in  the,  law,  the  other 
only  in  its  author.* 

Now  in  all  forms  of  religion  there  must  be  a  com- 
mon element  which  is  the  same  thing  in  each  man ;  not 
a  similar  thing,  but  just  the  same  thing,  differing  only 
in  degree,  not  in  kind,  and  in  its  direction  towards  one 
or  many  objects,  in  both  of  which  particulars  it  is  in- 
fluenced in  some  measure  by  external  circumstances. 
Then  since  men  exist  under  most  various  conditions, 
and  in  widely  different  degrees  of  civilization,  it  is 
plain  that  the  religious  consciousness  must  appear  un- 
der various  forms,  accompanied  with  various  doctrines, 
as  to  the  number  and  nature  of  its  objects,  the  deities; 
with  various  rites,  forms,  and  ceremonies,  as  it  means 
to  appease,  propitiate,  and  serve  these  objects;  with 
various  organizations,  designed  to  accomplish  the  pur- 
poses which  it  is  supposed  to  demand;  and  in  short, 
with  apparently  various  and  even  opposite  effects  upon 
life  and  character.  As  all  men  are  at  bottom  the  same, 
but  as  no  two  nations  or  ages  are  exactly  alike  in  char- 
acter, circumstances,  or  developments,  so  therefore, 
though  the  religious  element  be  the  same  in  all,  we 
must  expect  to  find  its  manifestations  are  never 
exactly  alike  in  any  two  ages  or  nations,  though  they 
give  the  same  name  to  their  form  of  worship.  If  we 
look  still  more  minutely,  we  see  that  no  two  men  are 
exactly  alike  in  character,  circumstances,  and  develop- 
ment, and  therefore  that  no  two  men  can  exhibit  their 
religion  in  just  the  same  way,  though  they  kneel  at 
the  same  altar,  and  pronounce  the  same  creed.  From 
the  difference  between  men,  it  follows,  that  there  must 
be  as  many  different  subjective  conceptions  of  God, 
*  See  Mr.  Parker's  Ten  Sermons,  Sermons  I.  to  V. 


S8  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

and  forms  of  religion,  as  there  are  men  and  women 
who  think  about  God,  and  apply  their  thoughts  and 
feelings  to  life.  Hence,  though  the  religious  faculty, 
be  always  the  same  in  all,  the  doctrines  of  religion, 
or  theology;  the  forms  of  religion,  or  mode  of  wor- 
ship; and  the  practice  of  religion,  which  is  morality, 
cannot  be  the  same  thing  in  any  two  men,  though  one 
mother  bore  them,  and  they  were  educated  in  the  same 
way.  The  conception  we  form  of  God;  our  notion 
about  man;  of  the  relation  between  him  and  God;  of 
the  duties  which  grow  out  of  that  relation,  may  be 
taken  as  the  exponent  of  all  the  man's  thoughts,  feel- 
ings, and  life.  They  are  therefore  alike  the  measure 
and  the  result  of  the  total  development  of  a  man,  an 
age,  or  race.  If  these  things  are  so,  then  the  phenom- 
ena of  religion —  like  those  of  science  and  art  —  must 
vary  from  land  to  land,  and  age  to  age,  with  the  vary- 
ing civilization  of  mankind ;  must  be  one  thing  in  New 
Zealand,  and  the  first  century,  and  something  quite 
different  in  New  England,  and  the  fifty-ninth  century. 
They  must  be  one  thing  in  the  wise  man,  and  another 
in  the  foolish  man.  They  must  vary  also  in  the  same 
individual,  for  a  man's  wisdom,  goodness,  and  general 
character,  affect  the  phenomena  of  his  religion.  The 
religion  of  the  boy  and  the  man,  of  Saul  the  youth, 
and  Paul  the  aged,  how  unlike  they  appear.  The  boy's 
prayer  will  not  fill  the  man's  heart ;  nor  can  the  strip- 
ling son  of  Zebedee  comprehend  that  devotion  and  life, 
which  he  shall  enjoy  when  he  becomes  the  saint  mature 
in  years. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  THREE  GREAT  HISTORICAL 
FORMS   OF   RELIGION 

Looking  at  the  religious  history  of  mankind,  and  es- 
pecially at  that  portion  of  the  human  race  which  has 
risen  highest  in  the  scale  of  progress,  we  see  that  the 
various  phenomena  of  religion  may,  for  the  pres- 
ent purpose,  be  summed  up  in  three  distinct  classes 
or  types,  corresponding  to  three  distinct  degrees  of  civ- 
ilization, and  almost  inseparable  from  them.  These 
are  Fetichism,  Polytheism,  and  Monotheism.  But 
this  classification  is  imperfect,  and  wholly  external, 
though  of  use  for  the  present  purpose.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  we  never  find  a  nation  in  which 
either  mode  prevails  alone.  Nothing  is  truer  than  this, 
that  minds  of  the  same  spiritual  growth,  see  the  same 
spiritual  truth.  Thus,  a  savage  saint,  living  in  a  na- 
tion of  idolators  or  polytheists,  worships  the  one  true 
God,  as  Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  done.  In  a  Christian 
land,  superstitious  men  may  be  found,  who  are  as  much 
idolators  as  Nebuchadnezzar,  or  Jeroboam. 

1.  Fetichism  denotes  the  worship  of  visible  objects, 
such  as  beasts,  birds,  fish,  insects,  trees,  mountains,  the 
stars,  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  earth,  the  sea  and  air,  as 
types  of  the  infinite  Spirit.  It  is  the  worship  of  Na- 
ture.*   It  includes  many  forms  of  rehgious  observances 

*  It  will  probably  be  denied  by  some,  that  these  objects  were 
worshipped  as  symbols  of  the  deity.  It  seems,  however,  that 
even  the  most  savage  nations  regarded  their  idols  only  as  types 

69 


40  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

that  prevailed  widely  in  ancient  days,  and  still  continue 
among  savage  tribes.  It  belongs  to  a  period  in  the 
progress  of  the  individual,  or  society,  when  civilization 
is  low,  the  manners  wild  and  barbarous,  and  the  intel- 
lect acts  in  ignorance  of  the  causes  at  work  around  it ; 
when  man  neither  understands  nature,  nor  himself. 
Some  writers  suppose  the  human  race  started  at  first 
with  a  pure  Theism;  for  the  knowledge  of  truth, 
say  they,  must  be  older  than  the  preception  of  error,  in 
this  respect.  It  seems  the  sentiment  of  man  would  lead 
him  to  the  one  God.  Doubtless  it  would  if  the  con- 
ditions of  its  highest  action  were  perfectly  fulfilled. 
But  as  this  is  not  done  in  a  state  of  ignorance  and  bar- 
barism, therefore  the  religious  sentiment  mistakes  its 
object,  and  sometimes  worships  the  symbol  more  than 
the  thing  it  stands  for. 

In  this  stage  of  growth,  not  only  the  common  objects 
above  enumerated,  but  gems,  metals,  stones  that  fell 
from  heaven,*   images,   carved  bits   of  wood,  stuffed 

of  God.  On  this  subject,  see  Constant,  Religion,  etc.;  Paris. 
1824.  5  vols.  8vo.:  Philip  Van  Limburg  Brauwer,  Historie  de 
la  Civilization  morale  et  religieuse  des  Grecs,  etc.;  Groningues, 
1833-42,  8  vols.  8  vo..  Vol.  II.  Ch.  IX.  X.  et  alibi.  Oldendorp, 
Geschichte  der  Mission  —  auf  —  St.  Thomas,  etc.;  Barby.  1777, 
p.  318,  et  seq.  Du  Culte  des  Dieux  fetiches  [par  De  Brosses; 
Paris]  1770.  1  vol.  12mo.  Movers,  Untersuchung  uber  die  Re- 
ligion und  der  Gottheiten  der  Phonizier;  Bonn.  1841.  2  vols.  8vo. 
Comte,  Cours  de  Philosophic  positive.  Vol.  V.;  Stuhr,  Allg. 
Gesch.  der  Religions formen;  Berlin,  1838,  2  vols.  8vo.  Meimers, 
ubi  supra,  and  the  numerous  accounts  of  the  savage  nations,  by- 
missionaries,  travellers,  etc.  Catlin,  ubi  supra.  Vol.  I.  p.  35,  et 
seq.  p.  88,  et  seq.  p.  156,  et  seq.  etc. 

*  These  Stone- fetiches  are  called  Baetylia  by  the  learned. 
Cybele  was  worshipped  in  the  form  of  a  black  stone,  in  Asia 
Minor.  Theophrast.  Charact.  16.  Lucian,  Pseudomant,  §  30. 
The  ancient  Laplanders,  also  worshipped  large  stones  called 
Seiteh.  See  Scheffer's  Lappland.  In  the  time  of  Pausanias,  at 
Phorae,  in  Achaia,  there  were  nearly  thirty  square  stones,  called 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  41 

skins  of  beasts,  like  the  medicine-hags  of  the  North 
American  Indians,  are  reckoned  as  divinities  and  so  be- 
come objects  of  adoration.*  But  in  this  case  the  vis- 
ible object  is  idealized;  not  worshipped  as  the  brute 
thing  it  really  is,  but  as  the  type  and  symbol  of  God. 
Nature  is  an  apparation  of  the  diety,  God  in  a  mask. 
Brute  matter  was  never  an  object  of  adoration.  Thus 
the  Egyptians,  who  worshipped  the  crocodile,  did  not 
worship  it  as  a  crocodile,  but  as  a  symbol  of  God,  "  an 
appropriate  one,"  says  Plutarch,  "  for  it  alone,  of  aU 
animals,  has  no  tongue,  and  God  needs  none  to  speak 
his  power  and  glory."  Similar  causes,  it  may  be,  led 
to  the  worship  of  other  animals.  Thus  the  hawk 
was  a  type  of  divine  foresight;  the  bull  of  strength; 
the  serpent  of  mystery.  The  Savage  did  not  worship 
the  buffalo,  but  the  manitou  of  all  buffaloes,  the  uni- 
versal cause  of  each  particular  effect.  Still  more,  there 
is  something  mysterious  about  the  animals.  Their  in- 
stinctive knowledge  of  coming  storms,  and  other 
events ;  the  wondrous  foresight  of  the  beaver,  the  bee ; 
the  sagacity  of  the  dog;  the  obscurity  attending  all 

by  the  names  of  the  Gods,  and  worshipped.  0pp.;  ed.  Lips. 
1838,  Vol.  II.  Lib.  VII.  ch.  22,  p.  618.  Rough  stones,  he  adds, 
formerly  received  divine  honors  universally  in  Greece.  The 
erection  of  such  is  forbidden  in  Levit  XXVI.  1.  et  al.,  on  this 
form  of  worship.  See  some  curious  facts  collected  by  Michelct, 
Hist,  de  France,  Liv.  I.  Eclaircissements,  Oeuvres;  Ed.  Brux- 
cUes,  1840.  Tom.  III.  p.  51,  55,  61,  et  seq.  93,  (note  I).  The 
erection  of  Baetylia  is  forbidden  by  several  councils  of  the 
Church,  e.  g.  C.  Arelat,  II.  Can.  23;  C.  Autoisoid,  Can.  3;  C 
Tolet,  XII.  Can.  11.  .      t.       ^ 

*See  Catlin,  ubi  supra.  See  also  Legis,  Fundgruben  dcs 
Alten  Nordens,  Leip.;  1829,  2  vols.  8vo.  and  his  Alkuna,  Nor- 
dische  und  Nord-Slawische  Mythologie;  Leip.  1831,  Vol.  I.,  8yo. 
Mone,  Geschichte  der  Heidenthums  in  NordHchen  Europa;  Lap. 
1822,  2  vols.  8vo.  See  Grimm,  Deutsche  xMythologie;  GOtt, 
1835,  for  this  worship  of  Nature  in  the  North. 


4£  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

their  emotions,  helped,  no  doubt,  to  procure  them  a 
place  among  powers  greater  than  human.  It  is  the 
unknown  which  men  worship  in  common  things ;  at  this 
stage,  man,  whose  emotions  are  understood,  is  never 
an  object  of  adoration.* 

Fetichism  is  the  infancy  of  rehgion.  Here  the  relig- 
ious consciousness  is  still  in  the  arms  of  rude,  savage 
life,  where  sensation  prevails  over  reflection.  It  is  a 
deification  of  nature,  "  All  is  God,  but  God  himself." 
It  loses  the  infinite  in  the  finite ;  worships  the  creature 
more  than  the  Creator.  Its  lowest  form  —  for  in  this 
lowest  deep,  there  is  a  lower  deep  —  is  the  worship  of 
beasts ;  the  highest  the  sublime,  but  deceitful  reverence 
which  the  old  Sabaean  paid  the  host  of  Heaven,  or 
which  some  Grecian  or  Indian  philosopher  off^ered  to 
the  universe  personified,  and  called  Pan,  or  Brahma. 
Then  all  the  mass  of  created  things  was  a  fetich.  God 
was  worshipped  in  a  sublime  and  devout,  but  bewilder- 
ing Pantheism.  He  was  not  considered  as  distinct  from 
the  universe.  Pantheism  and  fetichism  are  nearly 
allied.t 

In  the  lowest  form  of  this  worship,  so  far  as  we  can 
gather  from  the  savage  tribes,  each  individual  has  his 

*  But  see  the  causes  of  animal  worship  assigned  by  Diod.  Sic. 
Lip.  I.  p.  76.  ed.  Rhodoman;  the  remarks  of  Cicero,  De  Nat. 
Deorum.  Tusc.  V.  et  al.;  Plutarch,  De  Iside  et  Osir.  p.  72,  et 
seq.  et  al.;  Wilkinson,  Manners,  etc.  of  Ancient  Egypt,  2d  series. 
Vol.  I.  p.  104,  seq.  and  Phorphyry,  De  Abst,  IV.  9,  cited  by 
him.  Jean  Paul  says,  that  "in  the  beast  men  see  the  Isis-veil 
of  a  Deity,"  a  thought  which  Hegel  has  expanded  in  his  Philos. 
der  Religion.  See  Creutzer,  Symbol.  3d  ed.  Vol.  I.  p.  30,  et 
seq. 

fin  consequence  of  the  opinion  in  fetichistic  nations,  that 
external  things  have  a  mysterious  life,  M.  Comte,  ubi  supra. 
Vol.  V.  p.  36,  et  seq.  discovers  traces  of  it  in  animals.  When 
a  savage,  a  child,  or  a  dog,  first  hears  a  watch  tick,  each  sup- 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  48 

own  peculiar  fetich,  a  beast,  an  imfige,  a  stone,  a 
mountain,  or  a  star,  a  concrete  and  visible  type  of  God. 
For  it  seems,  in  this  state,  that  all,  or  most  external 
things,  are  supposed  to  have  a  hfe  analogous  in  kind 
to  ours,  but  more  or  less  intense  in  degree.  The  con- 
crete form  is  but  the  vail  of  Grod,  like  that  before  Isis 
in  Egypt.  There  are  no  priests,  for  each  man  has  ac- 
cess to  his  own  deity  at  will.  Worship  and  prayer  are 
personal,  and  without  mediators.  The  age  of  the 
priesthood,  as  a  distinct  class,  has  not  come.  Worship 
is  entirely  free ;  there  is  no  rite,  established  and  fixed. 
Public  theological  doctrines  are  not  yet  formed.  There 
are  no  mysteries  in  which  each  may  not  share. 

The  state  of  fetichism  continues  as  long  as  man  is 
in  the  gross  state  of  ignorance  which  renders  it  pos- 
sible. Next,  as  the  power  of  abstraction  and  generali- 
zation becomes  enlarged,  and  the  qualities  of  external 
nature  are  understood,  there  are  concrete  and  visible 

poses  it  endowed  with  life,  "whence  results,  by  natural  conse- 
quence, a  Fetichism,  which,  at  botom,  is  common  to  all  three  1** 
Here  he  confounds  the  sign  with  the  cause. 

Pliny  has  a  curious  passage  in  which  he  ascribes  to  the  ele- 
phant ^quitas,  Religio  quoque  Siderum;  Solisque  ac  Lunae 
Veneratio.  Nat.  Hist.  Lib.  VIII.  Ch.  1.  The  noUon  that  beasts 
had  a  moral  sense  appears  frequently  among  the  ancients, 
Ulpian  says  jus  naturale  is  common  to  all  animals.  Origen 
says  that  Celsus  taught  that  there  was  no  diflFerence  between 
the  soul  of  man  and  that  of  emmets,  bees,  etc.,  Lib.  II.  Cels, 
Cont.  Clement  of  Alex.  (Stromt  VI.  14.  p.  705-6,  ed.  Potter,) 
says  God  gave  the  heathen  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  that  they 
might  worship  them,  such  worship  being  the  way  to  that  of 
God  himself.  Perhaps  he  was  led  to  this  opinion  by  following 
the  LXX.  in  Deut.  IV.  19. 

Fetichism  continued  in  Europe  long  after  the  introduction  of 
Christianity.  The  councils  of  the  church  forbid  its  various 
forms  in  numerous  decrees,  e.  g.  C.  Turg.  II.  can.  29.  C.  Au- 
toisiod.  can.  1.  4;  C.  Quinisext,  can.  62.  Q5.  79:  Narbon.  can.  15. 
C.  Bothomag.  can.  4.  14.  See  in  Staudlin,  Gesch.  ITieoL  VoL 
III.  371,  et  seq. 


U  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Gods  for  the  family ;  next  for  the  tribe ;  then  for  the 
nation.  But  their  power  is  supposed  to  be  hmited  with- 
in certain  bounds.  A  subsequent  generalization  gives 
an  invisible  but  still  concrete  deity  for  each  depart- 
ment of  Nature  —  the  earth,  the  sea,  the  sky. 

Now  as  soon  as  there  is  a  fetich  for  the  family,  or 
the  tribe,  a  mediator  becomes  needed  to  interpret  the 
will,  and  insure  the  favor  of  that  fetich,  to  bring  rain, 
or  plenty,  or  success,  and  to  avert  impending  evils. 
Such  are  the  angekoks  of  the  Esquimaux,  the  medicine- 
men of  the  Mandans,  the  jugglers  of  the  negroes. 
Then  a  priesthood  gradually  springs  up,  at  first  pos- 
sessing none  but  spiritual  powers;  at  length  it  sur- 
rounds its  God  with  mysteries ;  excludes  him  from  the 
public  eye;  establishes  forms,  sacrifices,  and  doctrines; 
limits  access  to  the  Gods;  becomes  tyrannical;  aspires 
after  political  power,  and  founds  a  theocracy,  the 
worst  of  despotisms,  the  earliest,  and  the  most  lasting.* 
Still  it  has  occupied  a  high  and  indispensable  position 
in  the  development  of  the  human  race. 

The  highest  form  of  fetishism  is  the  worship  of  the 
stars,  or  of  the  universe.!    Here  it  easily  branches  off 

♦See  at  the  end  of  Hodges's  "  EUhu,"  etc.;  London,  1750,  1 
voL  4to.  a  striking  account  of  the  manner  in  which  religious 
forms  are  established,  taken  from  a  French  publication  which 
was  burned  by  the  common  hangman  at  Paris.  See  also  on  the 
establishment  and  influence  of  the  priesthood  upon  religion. 
Constant  de  la  Religion,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  Liv.  III.  IV.;  Vol. 
IV.  passim.  His  judgment  of  the  priesthood,  though  often  just, 
is  sometimes  too  severe.  Comte,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  V.  p.  57,  et 
seq.  On  the  priesthood  among  savage  nations,  see  Pritchard, 
ubi  sup.  Vol.  1.  p.  206,  et  seq.  Meiners,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  p. 
481-602. 

tSee  Strabo's  remarkable  account  of  the  worship  of  the 
Ancient  Persians,  Opp.  ed.  Siebenkees,  Vol.  VI.  Lib.  XV.  §  13, 
p.  221.  See  too  the  remarks  of  Herbert,  De  Religione  Gentili- 
tium;  Amst.  1663,  1  vol.  4to.  Ch.  II.  XIV.  et  al. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  45 

into  polytheism.  Indeed  it  is  impossible  to  tell  where 
one  begins  and  the  other  ends,  for  traces  of  each  of  the 
three  forms  are  found  in  all  the  others ;  the  two  must  be 
distinguished  by  their  centre,  not  their  circumference. 
The  Great  Spirit  is  worshipped,  perhaps,  in  all  stages 
of  fetichism.  The  fetich  and  the  manitou,  visible 
types,  are  not  the  great  spirit.  But  even  in  the  wor- 
ship of  many  gods,  or  of  one  alone,  traces  of  the  ruder 
form  still  linger.  The  fetich  of  the  individual  is  pre- 
served in  the  amulet,  worn  as  a  charm;  in  the  figure 
of  an  animal  painted  on  the  dress,  the  armor,  or  the 
flesh  of  the  worshipper.  The  family  fetich  survives 
in  the  household  gods;  the  penates  of  the  Romans; 
the  teraphim  of  Laban;  the  idol  of  Micah.  The  fe- 
tich of  the  tribe  still  lives  in  the  lares  of  the  Roman ; 
in  the  patron  god  of  each  Grecian  people ;  in  some  ani- 
mal treated  with  great  respect,  or  ideahzed  in  art,  as  the 
Bull  Apis,  the  brazen  serpent,  horses  consecrated  to 
the  sun  in  Solomon's  temple;*  in  an  image  of  deity, 
like  the  old  wooden  statues  of  Minerva,  always  reli- 
giously kept,  or  the  magnificent  figures  of  the  gods  in 
marble,  ivory,  or  gold,  the  productions  of  maturest  art ; 
in  some  chosen  symbol,  the  Palladium,  the  Ancilia,  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant.  The  fetich  of  the  nation,  al- 
most inseparably  connected  with  the  former,  is  still  re- 
membered in  the  mystical  cherubim,  and  Most  Holy 
Place  among  the  Jews ;  in  the  Olympian  Jove  of  Greece, 
and  the  Capitoline  Jupiter  of  Rome;  in  the  image  of 
"  the  Great  Goddess  Diana,  which  fell  down  from  Ju- 
piter." It  appears  also  in  reverence  for  particular 
places  formerly  deemed  the  local  and  exclusive  residence 
of  the  fetich,— such  as  the  Caaba  at  Mecca;  Hebron, 

*  Vatke,  Biblische  Theologie;   Berlin,  1835    ;5;f  ,J  .^""i^P^ 
to  trace  out  the  connection  of  Fetichism  with  the  Jewish  ntuaL 


46  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Moriah,  and  Bethel  In  Judea;  Delphi  in  Greece,  and 
the  great  gathering  places  of  the  North-men  in  Europe, 
spots  deemed  holy  by  the  superstitious  even  now,  and 
therefore  made  the  site  of  Christian  churches.* 

Other  and  more  general  vestiges  of  f etichism  remain 
in  the  popluar  superstitions;  in  the  belief  of  signs, 
omens,  auguries,  divination  by  the  flight  of  birds,  and 
other  accidental  occurrences;  in  the  notion  that  unu- 
sual events,  thunder,  and  earthquakes,  and  pestilence, 
are  peculiar  manifestations  of  God;  that  he  is  more 
specially  present  in  a  certain  place,  as  a  church,  or 
time,  as  the  sabbath,  or  the  hour  of  death;  is  pleased 
with  actions  not  natural,  sacrifices,  fasts,  penance,  and 
the  like.t  Perhaps  no  form  of  religion  has  yet  been 
adopted,  which  has  not  the  stain  of  fetichism  upon  it. 
The  popular  Christian  theology  is  full  of  it.  The 
names  of  the  constellations  are  records  of  fetichism 
that  will  long  endure.  J 

Under  this  form  religion  has  the  smallest  sound  in- 

*See  Mone,  ubi  supra.  Vol.  I.  p.  23,  et  seq.  p.  43,  et  seq.  p. 
113,  et  seq.  p.  249,  et  seq.  and  elsewhere.  Wilkinson,  ubi  sup. 
Vol.  I.  Ch.  XII.  Vol.  II.  Ch.  II.  and  XIV.  His  theory,  however, 
differs  widely  from  the  above.  Whatever  was  extraordinary 
was  deemed  eminently  divine.  Thus  with  the  Hebrews  a  great 
cedar  was  the  cedar  of  God.  Other  nations  had  their  De-wa- 
da-ru,  God-timber,  etc.  See  Grimm,  Deutsche  Mythologie,  p. 
41,  et  seq.  Lucan,  Pharsal,  Lib.  III.  399,  et  seq.  Mithridates, 
at  the  siege  of  Patara,  dared  not  cut  down  the  sacred  trees. 
Appian  De  Bello  Mith.  Ch.  XXVII.  0pp.  ed  Schweighauser,  I. 
p.  679-80. 

tThe  great  religious  festivals  of  the  Christians,  Yule  and 
Easter,  are  easily  traced  back  to  such  an  occasion,  at  least  to 
analogous  festivals  of  fetichistic  or  polytheistic  people.  The 
festival  of  John  the  Baptist  must  be  put  in  this  class.  See 
some  details  on  this  subject  in  a  very  poor  book  of  Nork's,  Der 
Mystagog,  etc. 

t  See  Creutzer,  Symbolik  und  Mythologie,  3d  ed.  Vol.  I.  p.  30, 
ct  seq. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  47 

fluence  upon  life ;  the  religious  does  not  aid  the  moral 
element.*  The  supposed  demands  of  religion  seem 
capricious  to  the  last  degree,  unnatural  and  absurd. 
The  imperfect  priesthood  of  necromancers  and  jug- 
glers,—  which  belongs  to  this  period, —  enhances  the 
evil  by  multiplying  rites ;  encouraging  asceticism ;  lay- 
ing heavy  burdens  upon  the  people ;  demanding  odious 
mutilations  and  horrible  sacrifices,  often  of  human  vic- 
tims, in  the  name  of  God,  and  in  helping  to  keep  relig- 
ion in  its  infant  state,  by  forbidding  the  secular  eye  to 
look  upon  its  mysterious  jugglery,  and  prohibiting  the 
banns  between  faith  and  knowledge.  Still  this  class, 
devoted  to  speculation  and  study,  does  great  immediate 
service  to  the  race,  by  promoting  science  and  art,  and 
indirectly  and  against  its  will  contributes  to  overturn 
the  form  it  designs  to  support.  The  priesthood  comes 
unavoidably.t 

In  a  low  form  of  fetichism,  a  law  of  nature  seems 
scarce  ever  recognized.  All  things  are  taught  to  have 
a  life  of  their  own ;  all  phenomena,  growth,  decay,  and 
reproduction.  The  seasons  of  the  year,  the  changes  in 
the  sky,  and  similar  things,  depend  on  the  caprice  of 
the  deities.  The  jugglers  can  made  it  rain ;  a  witch  can 
split  the  moon ;  a  magician  heal  the  sick.  Law  is  re- 
solved into  miracle.  The  most  cunning  men,  who  un- 
derstand the  laws  of  nature  better  than  others,  are 
miracle-workers,  magicians,  priests,  necromancers,  as- 
trologers,  soothsayers,   physicians,   general  mediators 

♦  The  Guaycanis  Indians  of  South  America  put  to  death  all 
children  born  before  the  30th  year  of  their  mother.  BarUctt's 
Progress  of  Ethnology;  N.  Y.  1847,  p.  28. 

tSee  the  remarks  of  Lafitau,  Moeurs  des  sauvages  Amcri- 
quains,  etc.,  2  vols.  4to;  Paris,  1734,  Vol  I.  p.  108-456.  H^ 
work  is  amazingly  superficial,  but  contains  now  and  then  a  gooa 
thing. 


48  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

and  interpreters  of  the  gods ;  as  the  Mandans  called 
them  "  great  medicine-men."  * 

Then  as  men  experience  both  joy  and  grief,  pain 
and  pleasure,  and  as  they  are  too  rude  in  thought  to 
see  that  both  are  but  different  phases  of  the  same 
thing,  and  affliction  is  but  success  in  a  mask,  it  is  sup- 
posed they  cannot  be  the  work  of  the  same  divinity. 
Hence  comes  the  wide  division  into  good  and  evil  gods, 
a  distinction  found  in  all  religions,  and  carefully  pre- 
served in  the  theological  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
church.  Worship  is  paid  both  to  the  good  and  evil 
deity.  A  sacrifice  is  offered  to  avert  the  wrath  of  the 
one,  and  secure  the  favor  of  the  other.  The  sacrifice 
corresponds  to  the  character  ascribed  to  the  deity,  and 
this  depends  again  on  the  national  and  personal  charac- 
ter of  the  devotee.t 

Now  in  that  stage  of  civilization  where  every  man 
has  his  own  personal  deity  and  no  two  perhaps  the 
same,  the  bond  that  unites  man  to  man  is  exceedingly 
slight.  Each  man's  hand  is,  in  some  measure,  against 
his   brother's.      Opposition,   or  unlikeness   among  the 

*  Mr.  Catlin,  ubi  sup.  relates  anecdotes  that  illustrate  the 
state  of  thought  and  feeling  in  the  state  of  Fetichism.  Much 
also  may  be  found  in  Marco  Polo's  Travels  in  the  Eastern  parts 
of  the  World;  London,  1818,  and  in  Marsden's  notes  to  that 
edition.  The  early  Voyagers,  likewise,  are  full  of  facts  that 
belong  here. 

tThe  worship  of  evil  beings  is  a  curious  phenomenon  in  hu- 
man history.  The  literature  of  the  subject  is  copious  and  in- 
structive. Some  famous  men  think  the  existence  of  the  devil 
cannot  be  found  out  by  the  light  of  nature  and  unaided  reason; 
others  make  it  a  doctrine  of  Tiatural  religion.  Some  think  him 
incapable  of  Atheism,  though  only  a  speculative  theist.  The 
doctrine  is  a  disgrace  to  the  Christian  church,  and  well  fittted 
to  excite  the  disgust  of  thinking  and  pious  men.  But  see  what 
may  be  said  for  the  doctrine  by  Mayer,  Historia  Diaboli,  2d 
edition;  1780.  See  the  literature  in  Wegscheider,  Institutiones. 
§  104-5. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  49 

gods,  leads  to  hostility  among  men.  Thus  family  is 
arrayed  against  family,  tribe  against  tribe,  nation 
against  nation,  because  the  peculiar  god  of  the  one 
family,  tribe,  or  nation,  is  deemed  hostile  to  all  others. 
Therefore  among  cruel  nations,  whose  gods  of  course 
are  conceived  of  as  cruel,  the  most  acceptable  sacri- 
fice to  the  fetiche  is  the  blood  of  his  enemies.  A 
stranger  whom  accident  or  design  brings  to  the  devotee 
is  a  choice  offering.  The  saint  is  a  murderer.  War 
is  a  constant  and  normal  state  of  men,  not  an  exception 
as  it  afterwards  becomes ;  the  captives  are  sacrificed  as 
a  matter  of  course.  The  energies  of  the  race  are  de- 
voted to  destruction;  not  to  creative  industry.  It  is 
the  business  of  a  man  to  war ;  of  a  slave  and  a  woman 
to  till  the  soil.  The  fancied  god  guides  the  deepening 
battle;  presides  over  the  butchery,  and  canonizes  the 
bloody  hand.  He  is  the  god  of  battles,  teaches  men 
to  war,  inspires  them  to  fight. 

It  is,  unfortunately,  but  too  easy  to  find  historical 
verifications  of  this  phase  of  human  nature.  The  Jews, 
in  their  early  and  remarkable  passage  from  fetichism 
to  polytheism  and  monotheism  —  if  we  may  trust  the 
tale  —  resolve  to  exterminate  all  the  Canaanites,  mil- 
lions of  men,  unofi'ending  and  peaceful,  because  the  two 
nations  worshipped  different  gods,  and  Jehovah,  the 
peculiar  deity  of  the  Jews,  a  jealous  god,  demanded 
the  destruction  of  the  other  nation,  who  did  not  worship 
him.     Men,  women,  and  children  must  be  slain.*    The 

♦  See  a  dreadful  example  of  human  sacrifice  in  2  Kings,  III. 
27.  This  prevailed  in  many  parts  of  America  when  first  dis- 
covered by  the  Christians,  who  continued  in  a  different  form, 
not  offering  to  God  but  Mammon.  See  Bancroft,  History  of 
the  United  States,  Vol.  III.  p.  296-7,  for  some  forms  of  thi^ 
The  whole  of  Chap.  XXII.  is  replete  with  Philosophical  *nd 
historical  instruction,  and  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  brilliant 
even  in  that  series  of  shining  pages. 

ni— 4 


50  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Spaniards  found  cannibalism  in  the  name  of  God,  pre- 
vailing at  Mexico,  and  elsewhere.  In  our  day  it  still 
continues  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  under  forms  horri- 
ble almost  as  of  old  in  the  Holy  Land.* 

But  the  intense  demands  which  war  makes  on  all  the 
energies  of  men,  help  to  unfold  the  thinking  faculty,  to 
elevate  the  race,  and  thus  indirectly  to  promote  truer 
notions  of  religion.  This  war,  cruel  and  hideous 
monster  as  he  is,  has  yet  rocked  art  and  science  in 
notions  of  religion.  Thus  war,  cruel  and  hideous 
his  bloody  arms.  God  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to 
praise  him ; 

"  From  seeming  evil  still  educing  good. 
And  better  thence  again,  and  better  still 
In  infinite  progression." 

As  civilization  goes  forward  in  this  rough  way,  the 
voice  of  humanity  begins  to  speak  more  loudly,  moral- 
ity is  wedded  to  religion,  and  a  new  progeny  is  bom 
to  bless  the  world.  It  begins  to  be  felt  that  if  the  cap- 
tive consents  to  serve  his  conqueror's  god,  the  service 
will  be  more  acceptable  than  his  death.  Hence  he  is 
spared;  still  worships  his  own  deity  perhaps,  but  con- 
fesses the  superiority  of  the  victorious  god.  The  god 
of  the  conquered  party  becomes  a  devil,  or  a  strange 
god,  or  a  servant  of  the  controlling  deity.     Thus  the 

*  On  this  passage  in  human  history,  see  Comte,  Vol.  V.  p. 
90,  et  seq.  p.  132,  et  seq.  and  p.  186,  et  seq. 

See  F.  W.  Chillani,  Die  Menschen-Opf.  der  alten  Hebraer; 
Niirmberg,  1842,  1  vol.  8vo.  He  strongly  maintains  that  human 
sacrifice  was  not  forbidden  by  Moses,  but  continued  a  legal  and 
essential  part  of  the  national  worship  till  the  separation  of  the 
two  kingdoms.  Vestiges  of  this  he  thinks  appear  in  the  conse- 
cration of  the  first-born,  in  circumcision,  in  the  Paschal  Lamb, 
etc.  etc.  He  cites  many  curious  facts.  See  p.  376.  Daumer 
Geheimnitze  des  Christlichen  Alterthums;  Hamb.  1847,  ch.  3,  5, 
9-16,  74,  75,  et  oL 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  51 

Gibeonites  and  the  Helots  who  once  would  have  been 
sacrificed  to  the  conquering  god,  became  hewers  of 
wood  and  drawers  of  water  to  the  Hebrews  and  the 
Spartans,  and  served  to  develop  the  directly  useful  and 
creative  faculties  of  man.  The  gods  demand  the  ser- 
vice, not  the  Hfeblood  of  the  stranger  and  captive.  No 
doubt  the  anointed  priesthood  opposed  this  refinement 
with  a  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  and  condemned  such 
as  received  the  blessing  of  men  ready  to  perish.  But  it 
would  not  do.  Samuel  hews  Agag  in  pieces,  though 
Saul  would  have  saved  him;  but  the  days  of  Samuel 
also  are  numbered,  and  the  theocratic  power  pales  its 
ineffectual  ray  before  a  rising  light. 

11.  Polytheism  is  the  next  stage  in  the  religious 
development  of  mankind.  Here  reflection  begins  to 
predominate  over  sensation.  As  the  laws  of  nature, 
the  habits  and  organization  of  animals,  begin  to  be  un- 
derstood, they  cease  to  represent  the  true  object  of  wor- 
ship. No  man  ever  deified  weight  and  solidity.  But 
as  men  change  slowly  from  form  to  form,  and  more 
slowly  still  from  form  to  the  substance,  coarse  and 
material  fetichism  must  be  idealized  before  it  could 
pass  away.  No  doubt  men,  for  the  sake  of  example, 
bowed  to  the  old  stock  and  stone  when  they  knew  an 
idol  was  nothing.  It  might  offend  the  weak  to  give  up 
the  lie  all  at  once. 

Polytheism  is  the  worship  of  many  gods  without  the 
worship  of  animals.  It  may  be  referred  to  two  sources, 
worship  of  the  powers  of  material  nature,  and  of  the 
powers  of  spiritual  nature.  Its  history  is  that  of  a  con- 
flict between  the  two.*  In  the  earliest  epoch  of  Greek 
» In  what  relates  to  this  subject,  I  shaU  consider  Polytheism 
as  it  appeared  to   the  great   mass   of  its   votaries.    Its  most 


5a  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

polytheism,  the  former  prevails;  the  latter  at  a  subse- 
quent period.  The  early  deities  are  children  of  the 
earth,  the  sky,  the  ocean.  These  objects  themselves 
are  gods.*  In  a  word,  the  Satumian  gods  of  the  older 
mythology  are  deified  powers  of  nature:  but  in  the 
mythology  of  the  later  philosophers,  it  is  absolute 
spiritual  power,  that  rules  the  world  from  the  top  of 
Olympus,  and  the  subordinate  deities  are  the  spiritual 
faculties  of  man  personified  and  embellished. f  Matter, 
no  longer  worshipped,  is  passive,  powerless,  and  dishon- 
ored. The  animals  are  driven  off  from  Olympus.  Man 
is  idealized  and  worshipped.  The  supreme  wears  the 
personality  of  men.  Anthropomorphism  takes  the  place 
of  a  deification  of  nature.  The  popular  gods  are  of 
the  same  origin  as  their  worshippers,  bom,  nursed, 
bred,  but  immortal  and  not  growing  old.$  They  are 
married  like  men  and  women,  and  become  parents. 
They  preside  over  each  department  of  nature,  and 
each  province  of  art.§     Pluto  rules  over  the  abodes  of 

obvious  phenomena  are  the  most  valuable.  Some,  as  Bryant, 
take  the  speculations  of  naturalists  and  make  it  only  a  system 
of  physics:  others,  as  Cudworth,  following  the  refinements  of 
later  philosophers,  would  prove  it  to  be  a  system  of  Mono- 
theism in  disguise.  But  to  the  mass,  Apollo  was  not  the  sun, 
nor  the  beautiful  influence  of  God,  whatsoever  he  might  appear 
to  the  mystic  sage. 

*  Julius  Firmicus  maintains  that  the  heathen  deities  were 
simply  deified  natural  objects.  De  Errore  prof.  Religionum, 
Ch.  I.-V.  But  Clement  of  Alexandria,  more  wisely  refers  them 
to  seven  distinct  sources.  Cohortatio  ad  Gentes,  Opp.  I.  ed. 
Potter,  p.  21,  23.  Earth  and  Heaven  are  the  oldest  Gods  of 
Greece. 

tSee  for  example  the  contest  of  Eros  and  Anacreon,  Carm. 
XIV.  p.  18,  19,  ed.  Mobius. 

t  See  Heyne,  Excursus  VIII.  in  Iliad,  I.  494,  p.  189,  Hegel, 
Philosophie  der  Rel.  Vol.  II.  p.  96-141.  Werke,  Vol.  XII. 
Pindar,  Nem.  VI.  1,  et  seq.     Olymp.  XII.  et  seq.,  etc. 

§See  Aristotle,  Metaphysica,  Opp.  ed.  Baker;  Oxford,  1837. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  53 

the  departed ;  Neptune  over  the  oceari ;  Jove  over  the 
land  and  sky.  One  divinity  wakes  the  olive  and  the 
corn,  another  has  charge  of  the  vine.  One  guides  the 
day  from  his  chariot  with  golden  wheels.  A  sister 
deity  walks  in  brightness  through  the  nocturnal  sky. 
A  fountain  in  the  shade,  a  brook  leaping  adown  the 
hills,  or  curling  through  the  plains ;  a  mountain  walled 
with  savage  rocks;  a  sequestered  vale  fringed  with 
romantic  trees, —  each  was  the  residence  of  a  god. 
Demons  dwelt  in  dark  caves,  and  shook  the  woods  at 
night  with  hideous  rout,  breaking  even  the  cedars. 
They  sat  on  the  rocks  —  fair  virgins  above  the  water, 
but  hideous  shapes  below  —  to  decoy  sailors  to  their 
destruction.  The  mysterious  sounds  of  nature,  the  re- 
ligious music  of  the  wind  playing  among  the  pines,  at 
eventide,  or  stirring  the  hot  palm  tree  at  noonday,  was 
the  melody  of  the  god  of  sounds.*  A  beautiful  form  of 
man  or  woman  was  a  shrine  of  God.f  The  storms 
had  a  deity.  Witches  rode  the  rack  of  night.  A  god 
offended  roused  nations  to  war,  or  drove  Ulysses  over 

VIII.  Lib.  XI.  §  8,  p.  233,  et  seq.  In  the  old  Pelasgic  Poly- 
theism, it  seems  there  were  no  proper  names  for  the  individual 
Gods.  The  general  term  Oods  was  all.  Herodotus,  Lib.  II. 
eh.  52,  Opp.  ed.  Baehr.  I.  p.  606,  et  seq.  Plato  mentions  the 
two  classes  of  Gods,  one  derived  from  the  worship  of  nature, 
the  other  from  that  of  man.  Legg.  Lib.  XI.  Opp.  ed.  Ast  VII. 
p.  344.  See  Plutarch  cited  in  Eusebius,  P.  E.  III.  1,  p.  57, 
Vers.  Lat.;  ed.  1579. 

*See  the  beautiful  lines  of  Wordsworth,  Excursion;  Boston 
1824,  Book  IV.  p.  159,  et  seq.    See  also  Creutzer,  ubi  sup.  VoL 

I.  p.  8-29. 

t  See  Herodotus,  V.  47.  The  Greeks  erected  an  altar  on  the 
grave  of  Philippos,  the  most  beautiful  of  the  Greeks,  and 
offered  sacrifice.     See  Wachsmuth,  Antiquities  of  Greece,  VoL 

II.  2,  p.  315,  on  the  general  adoration  of  beauty  amongst  the 
Greeks.  Hegel  calls  this  worship  the  Religion  of  Beauty. 
Phil,  der  Religion,  Vol.  II.  p.  96,  et  seq.  National  character 
marks  the  religious  form. 


64  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

many  lands.  A  pestilence,  drought,  famine,  inunda- 
tion, an  army  of  locusts  was  the  special  work  of  a  god.* 
No  ship  is  called  by  the  name  of  Glaucus  because  he 
offended  a  deity. f 

Arts  also  have  their  patron  divinity.    Phoebus-Apollo 

*  A  disease  was  sometimes  personified  and  worshipped,  as 
fever  at  Rome.  See  -(Elian,  Var.  Hist.  XII.  11,  p.  734,  et  seq. 
ed.  Gronivius.  Valerius  Maximus,  Lib.  II.  Ch.  V.  6,  Vol.  I.  p. 
126,  et  seq.  ed.  Hase.  Some  say  a  certain  ruin  at  Tivoli  is 
the  remnant  of  a  temple  to  Tussis,  a  cough.  Cicero  speaks 
of  a  temple  to  Fever  on  the  Palatine.  Nat.  Deorum,  III.  15, 
Opp.  15,  0pp.  ed.  Lemaire,  XII.  p.  333,  where  see  the  note. 
Nero  erected  a  monument  to  the  Manes  of  a  crystal  vase  that 
got  broken.  Temples  were  erected  to  Shame  and  ImpudeTice, 
Fear,  Death,  Laughter,  and  Gluttony,  among  the  heathen,  as 
shrines  to  the  saints  among  Christians.  Pausanias,  Lib.  IV. 
Ch.  XVII.  says,  the  Athenians  alone  of  all  the  Greeks  had  a 
temple  for  Modesty  and  Mercy.  See,  however,  the  ingenious 
remark  of  Cousin,  Journal  des  Savans,  March,  1835,  p.  136,  et 
seq.  and  Creutzer's  animadversions  thereon,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  p. 
135-6.  Brouwer,  Vol.  I.  p.  357.  In  India,  each  natural  object 
is  the  seat  of  a  God.  But  in  Greece  the  worship  of  nature 
passed  into  the  higher  form.  See  some  fanciful  remarks  of 
Hermann  on  the  most  ancient  mythology  of  the  Greeks  in  his 
Opuscula,  Vol.  II.  p.  167.  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  some 
of  the  old  Polytheistic  theogonies  spoke  of  a  gradual  and  pro- 
gressive development  of  the  Gods;  the  creator  keeps  even  pace 
with  the  creation.  The  explanation  of  a  fact  so  singular  as  the 
self-contradictory  opinion  that  the  infinite  is  not  always  the 
same,  may  be  found  in  the  history  of  human  conceptions  of 
God,  for  these  are  necessarily  progressive.  See  Aristotle,  Meta- 
physics, XIV.  p.  1000,  et  seq.  Opp.  II.  ed.  Duval;  Par.  1629. 
See  Hesiod's  Theogony  everywhere,  and  note  the  progress  of 
the  divine  species  from  Chaos  and  Earth,  to  the  moral  divini- 
ties, Eunomia,  Dike,  Eirene,  etc.  In  some  of  the  Oriental 
theogonies,  the  rule  was  inverted,  the  first  emanation  was  the 
best.  See  Warton,  History  of  English  Poetry;  Lond.  1824, 
Vol.  I.  Pref.  by  the  Editor. 

t  Herodotus,  Lib.  VI.  86,  relates  the  beautiful  story  of  Glau- 
cus, so  full  of  moral  truth.  Compare  with  it,  Zechariah  V.  3-4, 
Job  XV.  20,  et  seq.  XVIII.  et  seq.  where  the  same  beautiful 
and  natural  sentiment  appears. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  55 

inspires  the  poet  and  artist ;  the  Muses  -^  Daughters  of 
Memory  and  Jove  —  fire  the  bosom  from  their  golden 
urn  of  truth  ;*  Thor,  Ares,  Mars,  have  power  in  war ; 
a  sober  virgin-goddess  directs  the  useful  arts  of  hfe;  a 
deity  presides  over  agriculture,  the  labors  of  the  smith, 
the  shepherd,  the  weaver,  and  each  art  of  man.  He 
defends  men  engaged  in  these  concerns.  Every  nation, 
city,  or  family  has  its  favorite  god  —  a  Zeus,  Athena, 
Juno,  Odin,  Baal,  Jehovah,  Osiris,  or  Melkartha,  who 
is  supposed  to  be  partial  to  the  nation  which  is  his 
"  chosen  people."  Now  perhaps  no  nation  ever  be- 
lieved in  many  separate,  independent,  absolute  deities. 
All  the  gods  are  not  of  equal  might.  One  is  king  of  all, 
the  god  of  gods,  who  holds  the  others  with  an  iron 
sway.  Sometimes  he  is  the  All-Father;  sometimes  the 
All-Fate,  which,  in  some  ages,  seems  to  be  made  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  one  true  God.f  Each  nation  thinks  its 
own  chief  god  greater  than  the  gods  of  all  other  na- 
tions ;  or,  in  time  of  war,  seeks  to  seduce  the  hostile 

*  See  the  strange  pantheistic  account  of  the  origin  and  his- 
tory of  Gods  and  aU  things  in  the  Orphic  poems  and  Mj-thol- 
ogy.  These  have  been  collected  and  treated  of  with  great  dis- 
crimination by  Lobeck,  Aglaophamus,  Vol.  I-  P-  /"^S*  ^  ^eq. 
See  the  more  summary  account  in  Brandis,  Geschichte  der  Philos- 
ophie,  Vol.  I.  p.  60,  et  seq.    There  are  some  valuable  ttou^te 

in  Cruetzer's  Review  of  t^e^^^.f  ^^^^^..^^^^n  208^  s^ 
Deorum,  in  Theol.  Stud,  und  Kritiken  fur  1846,  P-  208/*^; 
tMen  must  believe  in  somewhat  that  to  them  is  Absolute; 
if  \heir  conception  of  the  Deity  be  i-Perfec^  *?'  una^oida- 
bly  retreat  to  a  somewhat  superior  to  the  de.ty.  Thus  J«' 
every  defect  in  the  popular  conception  of  Zeus,  soi^new 
power  is  added  to  Fate.  « It  is  impossible  evenfor  God  to 
escape  Fate,"  said  Herodotus.  See  also  Cudworth,  Ch  1.  § 
-rzenophanes  makes  a  sharp  distinction  between  ^od  and 
the'(.od/  See  in  Clem.  Alex^  Strom    ^^/'^f  ^^"^^t^^  ^ 

De  Nat  DePrum  m  Gale,  Opusc,  mythologica,  etc.;  Amst  168^ 


66  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

gods  by  sacrifice,  promise  of  temples  and  ceremonies, 
a  pilgrimage  or  a  vow.  Thus  the  Romans  invoked  the 
gods  of  their  enemy  to  come  out  of  the  beleagured 
city,  and  join  with  them,  the  conquerors  of  the  world. 
The  gods  were  to  be  had  at  a  bargain.  Jacob  drives  a 
trade  with  Elohim ;  the  god  receives  a  human  service 
as  adequate  return  for  his  own  divine  service.*  The 
promise  of  each  is  only  "  for  value  received." 

In  this  stage  of  religious  development  each  deity 
does  not  answer  to  the  idea  of  God,  as  mentioned 
above;  it  is  not  the  being  of  infinite  power,  wisdom, 
and  love.  Neither  the  Zeus  of  the  Iliad,  nor  the  Elo- 
him of  Genesis,  nor  the  Jupiter  of  the  Pharsalia,  nor 
even  the  Jehovah  of  the  Jewish  prophets  is  always  this. 
A  transient  and  complex  conception  takes  the  place  of 
the  eternal  idea  of  God.  Hence  his  limitations ;  those 
of  a  man.  Jehovah  is  narrow;  Zeus  is  licentious; 
Hermes  will  lie  and  steal ;  Juno  is  a  shrew,  f 

The  gods  of  polytheistic  nations  are  in  part  deified 
men. J  The  action  of  many  men,  of  different  ages 
and  countries,  are  united  into  one  man's  achievements, 
and  we  have  a  Hercules,  or  an  Apollo,  a  thrice-great 
Hermes,  a  Jupiter,  or  an  Odin.  The  inventors  of  use- 
ful arts,  as  agriculture,  navigation ;  of  the  plough,  the 
loom,  laws,  fire  and  letters,  subsequently  became  gods. 

•Genesis  XXVIII.  10-22. 

t  Sermons  of  Theism,  etc.    Sermon  III.  and  IV. 

JTertuUian,  De  Anima,  Ch.  33.  See  Meiners,  ubi  sup.  Vol. 
I.  p.  290,  et  seq.  Pindar,  Olymp.  II.  68,  et  seq.  ed.  Dissen.  and 
his  remarks.  Vol.  II.  p.  36,  et  seq.  This  Anthropomorphism 
took  various  forms  in  Greece,  Egypt,  and  India.  In  the  former 
it  was  the  elevation  of  a  man  to  the  Gods;  in  the  latter  the 
descent  of  a  God  to  man.  This  feature  of  Oriental  worship 
furnishes  a  fruitful  hint  as  to  the  origin  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Incarnation,  and  its  value.  The  doctrine  of  some  Chris- 
tians imites  the  two,  in  the  God-man, 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  57 

Great  men,  wise  men,  good  men,  were  honored  while 
living;  they  are  deified  when  they  decease.  As  they 
judged  or  governed  the  living  once,  so  now  the  dead. 
Their  actions  are  idealized ;  the  good  lives  after  them ; 
their  faults  are  buried.  Statues,  altars,  temples  are 
erected  to  them.  He  who  was  first  honored  as  a  man, 
is  now  worshipped  as  a  god.*  To  these  personal  deities 
are  added  the  attributes  of  the  old  fetiches,  and  still 
more  the  powers  of  nature.  The  attributes  of  the 
moon,  the  sun,  the  lightning,  the  ocean,  or  the  stars  are 
transferred  to  a  personal  being,  conceived  as  a  man. 
To  be  made  strong  he  is  made  monstrous,  with  many 
hands,  or  heads.  In  a  polytheistic  nation,  if  we  trace 
the  history  of  the  popular  conception  of  any  god,  that 
of  Zeus  among  the  Grecians,  for  example,  we  see  a 
gradual  advance,  till  their  highest  god  becomes  their 
conception  of  the  absolute.  Then  the  others  are  insig- 
nificant ;  merely  his  servants ;  like  colonels  and  corporals 
in  an  army,  they  are  parts  of  his  state  machinery.  The 
passage  to  monotheism  is  then  easy.t  The  spiritual 
leaders  of  every  nation  —  obedient  souls  into  whom 
the  spirit  enters  and  m^kes  them  Sons  of  God  and 
prophets, —  see  the  meaning  which  the  popular  notion 
hides;  they  expose  what  is  false,  proclaim  the  eternal 
truth,  and  as  their  recompense,  are  stoned,  exiled,  or 

♦  See  the  origin  of  Idolatry  laid  down  in  Wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon, Ch.  XIV.  17-19.     Warburton,  Divine  Legation,  Book  V. 

§   II-    [III-]  .       11       ^^^^ 

t  There  are  two  strongly  marked  tendencies  m  aU  polytlie- 

istic    religions  — one   towards    pure    Monotheism,    the   other   to 

Pantlieism.     See  an  expression  of  the  latter   in   Orpheus,  cd. 

Hermann,  p.  457,  "Zeus  is  the  first,  Zeus  the  last,     etc^  etc. 

cited  also  in  Cudworth,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I;  P-  f  *; ^^ee  Zeno,  to 

Diogenes  Laertius,  ed.   Hubner,  Lib.  VII.  Ch    ^3,  VoL  11.^ 

186     et    seq.;    Clemens    Alexand.    Stromat   VII.    12.     See   also 

CuVorth,  Ck  IV.  §  17,  et  seq.,  and  Mosheim's  AnnoUtions. 


68  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

slain.  But  the  march  of  mankind  is  over  the  tombs  of 
the  prophets.  The  world  is  saved  only  by  crucified  re- 
deemers. The  truth  is  not  silenced  with  Aristotle ;  nor 
exiled  with  Anaxagoras ;  nor  slain  with  Socrates.  It 
enters  the  soul  of  its  veriest  foes,  and  their  children 
build  up  the  monuments  of  the  murdered  seer. 

We  cannot  enter  into  the  feelings  of  a  polytheist; 
nor  see  how  morality  was  fostered  by  his  religion. 
Ours  would  be  a  similar  puzzle  to  him.  But  poly- 
theism has  played  a  great  part  in  the  development  of 
mankind  —  yes,  in  the  development  of  morality  and 
religion.*  Its  aim  was  to  "  raise  a  mortal  to  the 
skies ;"  to  infinitize  the  finite ;  to  bridge  over  the  great 
gulf  between  man  and  God.  Let  us  look  briefly  at  somie 
of  its  features. 

I.  In  polytheism  we  find  a  regular  priesthood.  This 
is  sometimes  exclusive  and  hereditary,  as  in  Egypt  and 
India,  where  it  establishes  castes,  and  founds  a  theoc- 
racy; sometimes  not  hereditary,  but  open,  free,  as  in 
Greece.t  When  "  every  clove  of  garlic  is  a  god,"  as 
in  fetichism,  each  man  is  his  own  priest;  but  when  a 
troop  of  fetiches  are  condensed  into  a  single  god,  and 
he  is  invisible,  all  cannot  have  equal  access  to  him,  for 
he  is  not  infinite,  but  partial;  chooses  his  own  place 
and  time.  Some  mediator,  therefore,  must  stand  be- 
tween the  god  and  common  men.f     This  was  the  func- 

*M.  Comte  thinks  this  the  period  of  the  greatest  religions 
activity!    The  facts  look  the  other  way. 

t  Even  in  Greece  some  sacerdotal  functions  vested  by  de- 
scent in  certain  families,  for  example,  in  the  lambides,  Bran- 
chides,  Eumolpides,  Asclepiades,  Cerycides,  Clitiades.  See 
them  in  Wachsmuth,  Vol.  I.  P.  I.  p.  152.  See  Grimm,  Deutsche 
Mythologie,  Ch.  V.  Meiners.  Vol.  II.  Book  XII.;  Brouwer, 
Vol.  I. 

%  See  Montesquieu,  Esprit  des  Lois,  Liv.  XXV.  Ch.  IV.    Sec 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  69 

tlon  of  the  priest.  Perhaps  his  office  became  hereditary 
at  a  very  early  period,  for  as  we  trace  backward  the 
progress  of  mankind,  the  law  of  inheritance  has  a 
wider  range.  The  priesthood,  separated  from  the  ac- 
tual cares  of  war,  and  of  providing  for  material  wants 
—  the  two  sole  departments  of  human  activity  in  a 
barbarous  age  —  have  leisure  to  study  the  will  of  the 
gods.  Hence  arises  a  learned  class,  who  gradually 
foster  the  higher  concerns  of  mankind.  The  effort 
to  learn  the  will  of  the  gods,  leads  to  the  study  of 
nature,  and  therefore  to  science.  The  attempt  to 
please  them  by  images,  ceremonies,  and  the  like,  leads 
to  architecture,  statues,  music,  poetry,  and  hymns  —  to 
the  elegant  arts.  The  priesthood  fostered  all  these. 
It  took  different  forms  to  suit  the  genius  of  different 
nations ;  established  castes  and  founded  the  most  odious 
despotism  in  Egypt  and  the  East,  and  perhaps  the 
North,  but  in  Greece  left  public  opinion  comparatively 
free.  In  the  one,  change  of  opinion  was  violent  and 
caused  commotion,  as  the  fabled  giant  buried  under 
^tna  shakes  the  island  when  he  turns ;  in  the  other  it 
was  natural,  easy  as  for  Endymion  to  turn  the  other 
cheek  to  the  moon.  Taken  in  the  whole,  it  has  been 
a  heavy  rider  on  the  neck  of  the  nations.  Its  virtue 
has  been,  in  a  rude  age  to  promote  science,  art,  patriot- 
ism, piety  to  the  gods,  and  in  a  certain  fashion,  love 
to  men.  But  its  vice  has  been  to  grasp  at  the  throat 
of  mankind,  control  their  thoughts  and  govern  their 
life,  aspiring  to  be  the  will  of  the  world.  When  it  has 
been  free,  as  in  the  philosophic  age  in  Greece,  its  in- 

Priestley's  Comparison  of  the  Institutions  of  Moses  with  those 
of  the  Hindoos,  etc.;  Northumberland,  1799,  §  X.  for  the  es- 
teem in  which  the  sacerdotal  class  was  held  in  India.  Brouwcr, 
Vol.  III.  Ch.  XVIII.,  XIX.  Also  Von  Bohlen,  Das  altc  In- 
dien.  Vol.  I.  p.  45,  et  seq.;  Vol.  II.  p.  12,  et  seq. 


60  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

fluence  has  been  deep,  silent,  and  unseen;  blessed  and 
beautiful.  But  when  it  is  hereditary  and  exclusive,  it 
preserves  the  form,  ritual,  and  creed  of  barbarous  times 
in  the  midst  of  civilization;  separates  morality  from 
religion,  life  from  belief,  good  sense  from  theology; 
demands  horrible  sacrifices  of  the  body,  or  the  soul; 
and,  like  the  angry  god  in  the  old  Pelasgic  fable,  chains 
for  eternal  damnation  the  bold  free  spirit  which,  learn- 
ing the  riddle  of  the  world,  brings  down  the  fire  of 
heaven  to  bless  poor  mortal  men.  It  were  useless  to 
quote  examples  of  the  influence  of  the  priesthood.  It 
has  been  the  burthen  of  fate  upon  the  human  race. 
Each  age  has  its  Levites;  instruments  of  cruelty  are 
in  their  habitations.  In  many  nations  their  story,  is  a 
tale  of  blood ;  the  tragedy  of  sin  and  woe.* 

II.  In  the  polytheistic  period,  war  is  a  normal  state 
and  almost  constant.  Religion  then  unites  men  of  the 
same  tribe  and  nation;  but  severs  one  people  from 
another.  The  gods  are  hostile;  Jehovah  and  Baal 
cannot  agree.  Their  worshippers  must  bite  and  devour 
one  another.  It  is  high  treason  for  a  citizen  to  commu- 
nicate the  form  of  the  national  religion  to  a  foreigner ; 
Jehovah  is  a  jealous  god.  Strangers  are  sacrificed  in 
Tauris  and  Egypt,  and  the  captives  in  war  put  to  death 
at  the  command  of  the  priest.  But  war  at  that  period 
had  also  a  civilizing  influence.  It  was  to  the  ancient 
world  what  trade  is  to  modern  times;  another  form 

*See  the  one-sided  view  of  Constant,  which  pervades  his 
entire  work  on  Religion.  See  his  Essay  on  the  "Progressive 
Development  of  Religious  Ideas,"  in  Ripley's  Philosophical 
Miscellanies,  Vol.  II.  p.  292,  et  seq.  Virgil,  in  his  description 
of  the  Elysian  fields,  assigns  the  first  place  to  Legislators,  the 
magnanimous  Heroes,  who  civilized  mankind;  the  next  to 
Patriots,  and  the  third  to  Priests.    Aen  VI.  661,  et  seq. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  61 

of  the  same  selfishness.  It  was  the  cfiief  method  of 
extending  a  nation's  influence.  The  remnant  of  the 
conquered  nation  was  added  to  the  victorious  empire; 
became  its  slaves,  or  tributaries,  and  at  last  shared  iU 
civilization,  adding  the  sum  of  its  own  excellence  to 
the  nnoral  treasury  of  its  master.  Conquered  Greece 
gave  arts  and  philosophy  to  Rome;  the  exiled  Jews 
brought  back  from  Babylon  the  great  doctrine  of  eter- 
nal life.  The  Goths  conquered  Rome,  but  Roman 
Christianity  subdued  the  Goths.  Religion,  allied  with 
the  fiercest  animal  passions,  demanded  war;  this  led  to 
science.  It  was  soon  seen  that  one  head  which  thinks 
is  worth  a  hundred  hands.  Science  elevates  the  mass 
of  men,  they  perceive  the  folly  of  bloodshed,  and  its 
sin.  Thus  war,  by  a  fatal  necessity,  digs  its  own  grave. 
The  art  of  production  surpasses  the  art  to  destroy.* 

All  the  wars  of  polytheistic  nations  have  more  or 
less  a  religious  character.  Their  worship,  however, 
favored  less  the  extermination  of  enemies  than  their 
subjugation,  while  monotheism,  denying  the  existence 
of  all  dieties  but  one,  when  it  is  superinduced  upon  a 
nation,  in  a  rude  state,  like  fetichism  itself,  butchers 
its  captives,  as  the  Jews,  the  Mahometans,  and  the 
Christians  have  often  done  — a  sacrifice  to  the  blood- 
thirsty phantom  they  call  a  god.f  In  the  ruder  stages 
of  polytheism,  war  is  the  principal  occupation  of  men. 
The  military  and  the  priestly  powers,  strength  of  body 
and  strength  of  thought,  are  the  two  scales  of  society ; 

•M.  Montg^ry,  a  French  Captain,  touchingly  complains  « that 
the  art  to  destroy,  though  the  easiest  of  aU  from  its  very  na- 
lure,  ^  now  much  less  advanced  than  the  art  of  produc^on 
in  spite  of  the  superior  difficulty  of  the  latter.      Quoted  in 

%^f  isTe^tlln^^^^^^^^  the  given   facts  coUected  by 
taumer  and  others. 


62  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

science  and  art  are  chiefly  devoted  to  kill  men  and 
honor  the  gods.  The  same  weapons  which  conquer 
the  spoil,  sacrifice  it  to  the  deity.* 

III.  But  as  polytheism  leads  men  to  spare  the  life  of 
the  captive,  so  it  leads  to  a  demand  for  his  service. 
Slavery,  therefore,  like  war,  comes  unavoidably  from 
this  form  of  religion,  and  the  social  system  which 
grows  out  of  it.  At  this  day,  under  the  influence  of 
monotheism,  we  are  filled  with  deep  horror  at  the 
thought  of  one  man  invading  the  personality  of  an- 
other, to  make  him  a  thing  —  a  slave.  The  flesh  of  a 
religious  man  creeps  at  the  thought  of  it.  But  yet 
slavery  was  an  indispensable  adjunct  of  this  rough 
form  of  society.  Between  that  fetichism  which  bade 
a  man  slay  his  captive,  eating  his  body  and  drinking 
his  blood  as  indispensable  elements  of  his  communion 
with  God,  and  that  polytheism  which  only  makes  him 
a  slave,  there  is  a  great  gulf  which  it  required  long 
centuries  to  fill  up  and  pass  over.  Anger  slowly  gave 
place  to  interest;  perhaps  to  mercy.  Without  this 
change,  with  the  advance  of  the  art  to  destroy,  the 
human  race  must  have  perished.  By  means  of  slavery 
the  art  of  production  was  advanced.  The  Gibeonite 
and  the  Helot  must  work  and  not  fight.  Thus  by 
forced  labor,  the  repugnance  against  work  which  is  so 
powerful  among  the  barbarous  and  half -civilized,  is 
overcome ;  systematic  industry  is  developed ;  the  human 
race  is  helped  forward  in  this  mysterious  way.  Both 
the  theocratic  and  the  military  caste  demanded  a  ser- 
vile class,  inseparable  from  the  spirit  of  barbarism,  and 

*M.  Comte,  Vol.  V.  p.  165,  et  seq.,  has  some  valuable  re- 
marks on  this  stage  of  human  civilization.  See  also  Vice, 
Scienza  nuova,  Bib.  II.  Cap.  I.-IV. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  68 

the  worship  of  many  gods,  which  falTs  as  that  spirit 
dies  out,  and  the  recognition  of  one  God,  Father  of  all, 
drives  selfishness  out  of  the  heart.  In  an  age  of  poly- 
theism, slavery  and  war  were  in  harmony  with  the 
institutions  of  society  and  the  spirit  of  the  age.  Mur- 
der and  cannibalism,  two  other  shoots  from  the  same 
stock,  had  enjoyed  their  day.  All  are  revolting  to  the 
spirit  of  monotheism;  at  variance  with  its  idea  of  life; 
uncertain  and  dangerous ;  monstrous  anomalies  full  of 
deadly  peril.  The  priesthood  of  polytheism  —  like  all 
castes  based  on  a  lie  —  upheld  the  system  of  slavery, 
which  rested  on  the  same  foundation  with  itself.  The 
slavery  of  sacerdotal  governments  is  more  oppressive 
and  degrading  than  that  of  a  military  despotism.  It 
binds  the  soul  —  makes  distinctions  in  the  nature  of 
mien.  The  prophet  would  free  men;  but  the  priest 
enslaves.  As  polytheism  does  its  work,  and  man  de- 
velops his  nature  higher  than  the  selfish,  the  condi- 
tion of  the  slave  is  made  better.  It  becomes  a  religious 
duty  to  free  the  bondsmen  at  their  master's  death,  as 
formerly  the  priests  had  burned  them  on  his  funeral 
pile,  or  buried  them  alive  in  his  tomb  to  attend  him  in 
the  realm  of  shades.*     Just  as  civilization  advanced 

*  See,  who  will,  the  mingling  of  profound  and  superficial  re- 
marks on  this  subject  in  Montesquieu,  ubi  sup.;  Li  v.  XV. 
Grotius,  De  jure  BelU  ac  Pads  Lib.  III.  Ch.  VIL-VIII.  Sd- 
den,  De  jure  naturali,  etc.;  ed.  1680,  Lib.  I.  Ch.  V.  p.  174,  and 
Lib.  VII.  VIII.  XII.  et  al.  See  the  valuable  treatise  of  Charles 
Comte,  Traite  de  la  Legislation,  ou  Exposition  des  Lois  gto- 
erales  suivant  lesquelles  les  Peuples  prosp^rent,  d6p6risscnt  ou 
restent  stationaire,  etc.  etc.  3d  ed.;  Bruxelles,  1837,  Liv.  V. 
the  whole  of  which  is  devoted  to  the  subject  of  salvery  and 
its  influence  in  ancient  and  modern  times.  We  need  only  com- 
pare the  popular  opinion  respecting  slavery  among  the  Jews, 
with  that  of  the  Greeks  or  Romans,  in  their  best  days,  to  Me 
the  influences  of  monotheism  and  polytheism  in  regard  to  this 
subject.    See  some  remarks  on  the  Jewish  slavery  in  MichaeUsi 


64  A  DISCOURSE  OP  RELIGION 

and  the  form  of  religion  therewith,  it  was  found  dif- 
ficult to  preserve  the  institution  of  ancient  crime,  which 
sensuality  and  sin  clung  to  and  embraced.* 

IV.  Another  striking  feature  of  polytheistic  influ- 
ence, was  the  union  of  power  over  the  body,  with 
power  over  the  soul;  the  divine  right  to  prescribe 
actions  and  prohibit  thoughts.  This  is  the  fundamen- 
tal principle  of  all  theocracies.  The  priests  were  the 
speculative  class ;  their  superior  knowledge  was  natural 
power ;  superstition  in  the  people  and  selfishness  in  the 
priest,  cenverted  that  power  into  despotic  tyranny. 
The  military  were  the  active  caste;  superior  strength 
and  skill  gave  them  also  a  natural  power.  But  he  who 
alone  in  an  age  of  barbarism  can  foretell  an  eclipse,  or 
poison  a  flock  of  sheep,  can  subdue  an  army  by  these 

Laws  of  Moses.  Slavery  in  the  East  has  in  general  been  of  a 
much  milder  character  than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  world. 
Wolf  somewhere  says  the  Greeks  received  this  relic  of  barbar- 
ism from  the  Asiatics.  If  so,  they  made  the  evil  institution 
worse  than  they  found  it.  According  to  Burckhardt,  it  exists 
in  a  very  mild  form  among  the  Mahometans,  everywhere.  Of 
course  his  remarks  do  not  apply  to  the  Turks,  the  most  cruel 
of  Mussulmen.  Perhaps  no  code  of  ancient  laws  (to  say  noth- 
ing of  modern  legislation)  was  more  humane  than  the  Jewish 
in  this  respect. 

*See  Comte,  Phil,  positive,  Vol.  V.  p.  186,  et  seq.  On  this 
subject  of  slavery  in  polytheistic  nations,  see  Gibbon,  Decline 
and  Fall;  ed.  Paris,  1840,  Vol.  I.  ch.  II.  p.  37,  XXXVIII.  p. 
630,  et  seq.,  and  the  valuable  notes  of  Milman  and  Guizot.  For 
the  influence  of  monotheism  on  this  frightful  evil,  compare 
Schlosser,  Geschichte  der  Alten  Welt.  Vol.  III.  Part  III.  ch. 
IX.  §  2,  et  al.;  in  particular  the  story  of  Paulinus,  and  Deo- 
gratias,  p.  284,  et  seq.  and  p.  334,  et  seq.  p.  427,  et  seq.;  and 
compare  it  with  the  conduct  of  Cato  (as  given  by  Plutarch, 
Life  of  Cato  the  Censor,  and  Schlosser,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  Part 
II.  p.  189,  et  seq.  Charles  Comte,  ubi  sup.  Liv.  V.),  and  alas, 
with  the  conduct  of  the  American  Government  and  the  com- 
mercial churches  of  our  large  towns  in  1850-55. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  65 

means.  At  an  early  stage  of  polytheism,  we  find  the 
political  subject  to  the  priestly  power.  The  latter  holds 
commjunion  with  the  gods,  whom  none  dare  disobey. 
Romulus,  iEacus,  Minos,  Moses,  profess  to  receive 
their  laws  from  God,  To  disobey  them,  therefore, 
is  to  incur  the  wrath  of  the  powers  that  hold  the 
thunder  and  lightning.  Thus  manners  and  laws, 
opinions  and  actions  are  subject  to  the  same  external 
authority.  The  theocratic  governor  controls  the  con- 
science and  the  passions  of  the  people.  Thus  the 
radical  evil  arising  from  the  confusion  between  the 
priests  of  different  gods,  was  partially  removed,  for 
the  spiritual  and  temporal  power  was  lodged  in  the 
same  hand. 

In  some  nations  the  priesthood  was  inferior  to  the 
political  power,  as  in  Greece.  Here  the  sacerdotal 
class  held  an  inferior  rank,  from  Homer's  time  to  that 
of  Laertius.*  The  genius  of  the  nation  demanded  it; 
accordingly  there  sprang  up  a  body  of  men,  neither 
political,  sacerdotal,  nor  military  —  the  philosophers  if 
They  could  have  found  no  place  in  any  theocratic  gov- 
ernment but  have  done  the  world  great  religious  service, 
building  "  wiser  than  they  knew."  It  was  compara- 
tively easy  for  art,  science,  and  all  the  great  works  of 
men,  to  go  forward  under  such  circumstances.    Hence 

*See  Demosthenes,  Cont  Near.  Ch.  XX.  in  Oratores  AtUci; 
Lond.  1828,  Vol.  VIII.  p.  391,  et  seq.  Aristot.  Rep.  III.  14. 
Opp.  ed.  Bekker,  X.  p.  87.  See  also  Cesar  Cantu,  Histoire 
Universelle;  Paris,  1841-44,  VoL  I.  ch.  XXVIII.-XXIX.; 
Constant,  Liv.  V.  ch.  V.  and  Brouwer's  remarks  thereon,  p. 
363,  note.  .    . 

t  Perhaps  none  of  the  polytheistic  nations  oflFers  an  »nft*n<« 
of  the  spiritual  and  temporal  power  existing  in  separate  hands, 
when  one  party  was  entirely  independent  of  the  other.  n>e 
separation  of  the  two  was  reserved  for  a  diflFerent  age,  and  will 
be  treated  of  in  its  place. 

ni— 5 


66  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

comes  that  wonderful  development  of  mind  in  the 
country  of  Homer,  Socrates,  and  Phidias.  But  in 
countries  where  the  temporal  was  subject  to  the  spir- 
itual power,  the  reverse  followed ;  there  was  no  change 
without  a  violent  revolution.  The  character  of  the 
nation  becomes  monotonous ;  science,  literature,  morals, 
cease  to  improve.  When  the  nation  goes  down,  it 
"  falls  like  Lucifer,  never  to  hope  again."  The  story 
of  Samuel  affords  us  an  instance,  among  the  Jews,  of 
the  sacerdotal  class,  resisting,  and  successfully,  the 
attempt  to  take  away  its  power.  Here  the  priest, 
finding  there  must  be  a  king,  succeeded  at  length  in 
placing  on  the  throne  a  "  man  after  God's  own  heart," 
that  is,  one  who  would  sacrifice  as  the  priest  allowed. 
The  effort  to  separate  the  temporal  from  the  spiritual 
power,  to  disenthrall  mankind  from  the  tyranny  of 
sacerdotal  corporations,  is  one  of  the  great  battles  for 
the  souls  of  the  world.  It  begins  early,  and  continues 
long.     The  contest  shakes  the  earth  in  its  time. 

V.  Another  trait  of  the  polytheistic  period  is  the 
deification  of  men.*  Fetichism  makes  gods  of  cattle; 
polytheism  of  men.  This  exaltation  of  men  exerted 
great  influence  in  the  early  stage  of  polytheism,  when 
it  was  a  real  belief  of  the  people  and  the  priest,  and 
not  a  verbal  form,  as  in  the  decline  of  the  old  worship. 
Stout  hearts  could  look  forward  to  a  wider  sphere  in 

*See  Farmer  on  the  Worship  of  Human  Spirits;  London, 
1783.  Plutarch  (Isis  and  Osiris),  denies  that  human  spirits 
were  ever  worshipped,  but  he  is  opposed  by  notorious  facts. 
See  Creutzer,  ubi  sup.  p.  137,  et  seq.  The  deification  of  human 
beings,  of  course  implied  a  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the 
human  soul,  and  is  one  of  the  many  standing  proofs  of  that 
belief.  See  Heyne's  remarks,  on  Iliad,  XXIII.  64  and  104-,  Vol. 
yill.  p.  368,  378,  et  seq. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  07 

the  untrod  world  of  spirit,  where  they  should  wield  the 
sceptre  of  command,  and  sit  down  with  the  immortal 
gods,  renewed  in  never  ending  youth.  The  examples 
of  ^acus,  Minos,  Rhadamanthus,  of  Bacchus  and 
Hercules  —  mortals  promoted  to  the  godhead,  by  merit, 
and  not  birth  —  crowned  the  ambition  of  the  aspiring.* 
The  kindred  belief  that  the  soul,  dislodged  from  its 
"  fleshly  nook,"  still  had  an  influence  on  the  affairs  of 
men,  and  came,  a  guardian  spirit,  to  bless  mankind, 
was  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  a  rude  state  of  religious 
growth  —  a  notion  which  has  not  yet  faded  out  of  the 
civilized  world. f  This  worship  seems  unaccountable 
in  our  times;  but  when  such  men  were  supposed  to 
be  descendants  of  the  gods,  or  bom  miraculously,  and 
sustained  by  superhuman  beings ;  or  mediators  between 
them  and  the  human  race;  when  it  was  believed  they 
in  life  had  possessed  celestial  powers,  or  were  incarna- 
tions of  some  diety  or  heavenly  spirit,  the  transition  to 
their  Apotheosis  is  less  violent  and  absurd:  it  follows 
as  a  natural  result.  The  divine  being  is  more  glorious 
when  he  has  shaken  off^  the  robe  of  flesh.J  Certain  it 
is,  this  belief  was  clung  to  with  astonishing  tenacity, 
and,  under  several  forms,  still  retains  its  place  in  the 
Christian  church.  § 

*  Pausanias  touchingly  complains  that  in  his  day  mortals  no 
longer  became  gods.  See  Lib.  VII.  Ch.  Q.  0pp.  ed.  Schubert 
and  Walz.  III.  p.  9. 

t  The  Christians  began  at  an  early  age  to  imitate  this,  as  well 
as  other  parts  of  the  old  polytheistic  system.  Eusebius,  P.  E. 
XIII.  11.     Augustine,  De  Civ.  Dei.  VIII.  27. 

%  On  this  subject,  see  Meiners,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  B.  III.  Ch.  I. 
and  II. 

§See  in  Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall,  Ch.  XLVII.  §  II.,  the 
lament  of  Serapion  at  the  loss  of  his  concrete  Gods.  But  it  was 
only  the  Avian  notions  that  deprived  him  of  his  finite  God. 
Jerome  condemns  the  Anthropomorphism  of  the  Poljiiieists  as 


68  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

The  moral  effect  of  polytheism,  on  the  whole,  is 
difficult  to  understand.  However,  it  is  safe  to  say  it  is 
greater  than  that  of  fetichism.  The  constant  evil  of 
war  in  public,  and  slavery  in  private;  the  arbitrary 
character  assigned  to  the  gods;  the  influence  of  the 
priesthood,  laying  more  stress  on  the  ritual  and  the 
creed  than  on  the  life;  the  exceeding  outwardness  of 
many  popular  forms  of  worship ;  the  constant  separa- 
tion made  between  religion  and  morality;  the  indif- 
ference of  the  priesthood,  in  Greece,  their  despotism  in 
India, —  do  not  offer  a  very  favorable  picture  of  the 
influence  of  polytheism  in  producing  a  beautiful  life. 
Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  high  tone  of  morahty 
which  pervades  much  of  the  literature  of  Greece,  the 
reverential  piety  displayed  by  poets  and  philosophers, 
and  still  more  the  undeniable  fact  of  characters  in  her 
story,  rarely  surpassed  in  nobleness  of  aim,  and  lofti- 
ness of  attainment, —  these  things  lead  to  the  opinion 
that  the  moral  influence  of  this  worship,  when  free  from 
the  shackles  of  a  sacerdotal  caste,  has  been  vastly  un- 
derrated by  Christian  scholars.* 

To  trace  the  connection  between  the  public  virtue 

stultissimam  hceresin,  but  believed  the  divine  incarnation  in 
Jesus.  See,  also,  Prudentius  Apotheosis,  Opp.  I.  p.  430,  et  seq.; 
London,  1824. 

*The  special  influence  of  Polytheism  upon  morals,  diifered 
with  the  different  forms  it  assumed.  In  India  it  sometimes  led 
to  rigid  asceticism,  and  lofty  contemplative  quietism;  in  Rome 
to  great  public  activity  and  manly  vigor;  in  Greece,  to  a  gay 
abandonment  to  the  natural  emotions;  in  Persia,  to  ascetic 
purity  and  formal  devotion.  On  this  subject  see  the  curious 
and  able,  but  one-sided  and  partial  treatise  of  Tholuck  on  the 
Moral  Influence  of  Heathenism,  in  the  American  Biblical  Re- 
pository, Vol.  II.  He  has  shown  up  the  dark  side  of  Heathen- 
ism, but  seems  to  have  no  true  conception  of  ancient  manners 
and  life.  See  Ackermann,  das  Christliche  in  Plato,  etc.,  Ch.  I. 
(See  below,  note  2  and  1.) 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  69 

and  the  popular  theology,  is  a  great  ari3  difficult  mat- 
ter, not  to  be  attempted  here.  But  this  fact  is  plain, 
that  in  a  rude  state  of  life,  this  connection  is  slight, 
scarce  perceptible;  the  popular  worship  represents 
fear,  reverence  it  may  be;  perhaps  a  hope;  or  even 
trust.  But  the  services  it  demands  are  rites  and  offer- 
ings, not  a  divine  life.  As  civilization  is  advanced, 
religion  claims  a  more  reasonable  service,  and  we  find 
enlightened  men,  whom  the  spirit  of  God  made  wise, 
demanding  only  a  divine  life  as  an  offering  to  him. 
Spiritual  men,  of  the  same  elevation,  see  always  the 
same  spiritual  truth.  We  notice  a  gradual  ascent  in 
the  scale  of  moral  ideas,  from  the  time  of  Homer, 
through  Solon,  Theognis,  the  seven  wise  men,  Pindar 
^schylus,  Sophocles,  and  the  philosophers  of  their 
day.*  The  philosophers  and  sages  of  Greece  and  Rome 
recommend  absolute  goodness  as  the  only  perfect  ser- 
vice of  God.  With  them  sin  is  the  disease  of  the  soul ; 
virtue  is  health;  a  divine  life  the  true  good  of  man- 
kind; perfection  the  aim.  None  have  set  forth  this 
more  ably.f 

In  the  higher  stages  of  polytheism,  man  is  regarded 
as  fallen.  He  felt  his  alienation  from  his  Father.  Re- 
ligion looks  back  longingly  to  the  golden  age,  when 
gods  dwelt  familiar  with  men.  It  seeks  to  restore  the 
links  broken  out  of  the  divine  chain.  Hence  its  sacri- 
fices, and  above  all  its  mysteries,}  both  of  which  were 

*  See  the  proof  of  this  in  Brandis,  Geschichte  der  Philosophic 

Vol.  I.  §  24,  25.  .  ,    T      K 

t  See,  on  the  moral  culture  of  the  Greeks,  m  special,  Jacobs, 
Vermischte  Schriften,  Vol.  III.  p.  374.  He  has  perhaps  done 
lustice  to  both  sides  of  this  difficult  subject.  ,     „    ^    , 

t  Cicero,  De  Legg.  II.  See  on  this  subject  of  the  Mysteri« 
in  general,  Lobeck,  Aglaophamus,  sive  de  Theologize  mysU« 
Causis,  etc..  Pars  III.,  ch.  III.  IV  The  mysteries  ^^J^ 
times  to  have  offered  beautiful  symbols  to  aid  man  m  return- 


70  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

often  abused,  and  made  substitutes  for  holiness,  and 
not  symbols  thereof. 

When  war  is  a  normal  state,  and  slavery  is  com- 
mon, the  condition  of  one  half  the  human  race  is  soon 
told.  Woman  is  a  tool  or  a  toy.  Her  story  is  hitherto 
the  dark  side  of  the  world.  If  a  distinction  be  made 
between  public  morality,  private  morality,  and  domestic 
morality,  it  may  safely  be  said  that  polytheism  did 
much  for  the  outward  regulation  of  the  two  first,  but 
little  for  the  last.  However,  since  there  were  gods  that 
watched  over  the  affairs  of  the  household,  a  limit  was 
theoretically  set  to  domestic  immorality,  spite  of  the 
temptations  which  both  slavery  and  public  opinion 
spread  in  the  way.  When  there  were  gods,  whose 
special  vocation  was  to  guard  the  craftsmen  of  a  cer- 
tain trade,  protect  travelers,  and  defenceless  men; 
when  there  were  general,  never  dying  avengers  of 
wrong,  who  stopped  at  no  goal  but  justice,; —  a  bound 
was  fixed,  in  some  measure,  to  private  oppression. 
Man,  however,  was  not  honored  as  man.  Even  in 
Plato's  ideal  state,  the  strong  tyrannized  over  the  weak ; 
human  selfishness  wore  a  bloody  robe:  patriotism  was 
greater  than  philanthropy:  The  popular  view  of  sin 
and  holiness  was  low.  It  was  absurd  for  Mercury  to 
conduct  men  to  hell  for  adultery  and  lies.  Heal  thy- 
self the  shade  might  say.  All  pagan  antiquity  offers 
nothing  akin  to  our  lives  of  pious  men.*  It  is  true, 
as  St.  Augustine  has  well  said,  "  that  matter,  which 
is  now  called  the  Christian  religion,  was  in  existence 

ing  to  union  with  the  Gods.  Warburton,  in  spite  of  his  erro- 
neous views  has  collected  much  useful  information  on  this  sub- 
ject: Divine  Legation,  Book  II.,  §  IV.  But  he  sometimes  sees 
out  of  him  what  existed  only  in  himself. 

*  But  see  in  Plutarch  the  singular  story  of  Thespesius,  his 
miraculous  conversion,  etc.  De  sera  Numinis  Vindicta,  opp. 
II.,  Ch.  XXVII.  p.  563,  et  seq.  ed.  Xylander. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  71 

among  the  ancients ;  it  has  never  beetf  wanting,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  human  race."  ♦  There  is  but  one 
Religion,  and  it  can  never  die  out.  Unquestionably 
there  were  souls  beautifully  pious,  and  devoutly  moral, 
who  felt  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  their  bosoms,  and 
lived  it  out  in  their  lowly  life.  Still,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed the  beneficial  influence  of  the  public  worship 
of  polytheists  on  public  and  private  virtue,  was  sadly 
weak.f  The  popular  life  is  determined,  in  some  meas- 
ure, by  the  popular  conception  of  God,  and  that  was 
low,  and  did  not  correspond  to  the  pure  idea  of  him ;% 
still  the  sentiment  was  at  its  work. 

But  worship  was  more  obviously  woven  up  with 
public  life  under  this  form  than  under  that  which  sub- 
sequently, took  its  place.  A  wedding  or  a  funeral, 
peace  and  war,  seed-time  and  harvest,  had  each  its 
religious  rite.  It  was  the  mother  of  philosophy,  of 
art,  and  science,  though  like  Saturn  in  the  fable,  she 
sought  to  devour  her  own  children,  and  met  a  similar 
and  well-merited  fate.  Classic  polytheism  led  to  con- 
tentedness  with  the  world  as  it  was,  and  a  sound  cheer- 
ful enjoyment  of  its  goodness  and  delight.  Religion 
itself  was  glad  and  beautiful.  §     But  its  idea  of  life 

♦Retract.  I.  13.  See  also  Civ.  Dei.  VIII.  and  Cont  Acad. 
III.  20. 

t  On  the  influence  of  the  national  cultus,  see  Athenaeus,  Ddp- 
nosoph.  VII.  65y  66.  XIV.  24,  et  al.;  Homeric  Hymns  I.  ts. 
14)7,  et  seq. 

t  Plato  is  seldom  surpassed,  in  our  day,  in  his  conception  of 
some  of  the  qualities  of  the  divine  being.  He  was  mainly  free 
from  that  anthropomorphitic  tendency  which  Christians  have 
derived  from  the  ruder  portions  of  the  Old  Testament  See 
Rep.  Lib.  IV.  passim.  But  neither  he  nor  Aristotle  — a  yet 
greater  man  — ever  attained  the  idea  of  a  God  who  is  the 
Author,  or  even  the  Master,  of  the  material  world.  God  and 
Matter  were  antagonistic  forces,  mutually  hostile. 

§  See  the  pleasant  remarks  of  Plutarch  on  the  cheerful  char- 
Rcter   of  public  worship,   Opp.   Vol.   II.  p.   HOI,  et  seq.  ed. 


tft  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

was  little  higher  than  its  fact.  However  that  weakish 
cant  and  snivelling  sentimentality  of  worship,  which 
disgrace  our  day,  were  unknown  at  that  stage.*  The 
popular  faith  oscillated  between  unbelief  and  super- 
stition. Plato  wisely  excluded  the  mythological  poets 
from  his  ideal  commonwealth.  The  character  of  the 
gods  as  it  was  painted  by  the  popular  mythology  of 
Egypt,  Greece,  and  India,  like  some  of  the  legends  of 
the  Old  Testament,  served  to  confound  moral  distinc- 
tions, and  encourage  crime.  Polytheists  themselves 
confess  it.f  Yet  a  distinction  seems  often  to  have  been 
made  between  the  private  and  the  official  character  of 
the  deities.  There  was  no  devil,  no  pandemonium  in 
ancient  classic  polytheism  as  in  the  modern  church. 
Antiquity  has  no  such  disgrace  to  bear.  Perhaps  the 
poetic  fictions  about  the  gods  were  regarded  always 
as  fictions,  and  no  more.  Still  this  influence  must 
have  been  pernicious  .J  It  would  seem,  at  first  glance, 
that  only  strong  intellectual  insight,  or  great  moral 

Xylander,  Strabo,  Lib.  X.  Ch.  III.  IV.  Opp.  IV.  p.  167,  et 
seq.  ed.  Siebenkees  and  Tschucke. 

*  Many  beautiful  traits  of  Polytheism  may  be  seen  in  Plu- 
tarch's Moral  Works,  especially  the  treatises  on  Superstition; 
That  it  is  not  possible  to  live  well  according  to  Epicurus;  of 
Isis  and  Osiris;  of  the  tardy  vengeance  of  God.  See  the  Eng- 
lish Version;  Lond.  1691,  4  vols.  8vo. 

t  Xenophanes,  a  contemporary  of  Pythagoras,  censures  Homer 
and  Hesiod  for  their  narratives  of  the  gods,  imputing  to  them 
what  it  was  shameful  for  a  man  to  think  of.  See  Karsten, 
Phil.  vett.  Reliquia,  Vol.  I.  p.  43,  et  seq.  See  Plato,  Repub.  II. 
p.  377.  Pindar,  Olymp.  I.  28.  But  no  religion  was  ever  de- 
signed to  favor  impurity,  even  when  it  allows  it  in  the  gods. 
See  the  fine  remarks  of  Seneca,  De  Vita  beata,  ch.  XXVI.  § 
5-6.  Even  the  gods  were  subject  to  the  eternal  laws.  Fate 
punished  Zeus  for  each  offense.  He  smarted  at  home  for  his 
infidelity   abroad. 

tSee  the  classic  passages  in  Aristophanes,  Clouds.  1065,  et 
seq. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  73 

purity,  or  a  happy  combination  of  external  circum- 
stances could  free  men  from  the  evil.  However,  in 
forming  the  morals  of  a  people,  it  is  not  so  much  the 
doctrine  that  penetrates  and  moves  the  nation's  soul, 
as  it  is  the  feeling  of  that  sublimity  which  resides  only 
in  God,  and  of  that  enchanting  loveliness  which  alone 
belongs  to  what  is  filled  with  God.  Isocrates  well  called 
the  mythological  tales  blasphemies  against  the  gods. 
Aristophanes  exposes  in  pubhc  the  absurdities  which 
were  honored  in  the  recesses  of  the  temples.  The  priest- 
hood in  Greece  has  no  armor  of  offence  against  ridi- 
cule.* But  goodness  never  dies  out  of  man's  heart. 
Mankind  pass  slowly  from  stage  to  stage: — 

"Slowly  as  spreads  the  green  of  Earth 
O'er  the  receding  Ocean's  bed. 
Dim  as  the  distant  Stars  come  forth. 
Uncertain  as  a  vision  fled," 

seems  the  gradual  progress  of  the  race.  But  in  the 
midst  of  the  absurd  doctrines  of  the  priests,  and  the 
immoral  tales  wherewith  mistaken  poets  sought  to  adorn 
their  conception  of  God,  pure  hearts  beat,  and  lofty 
minds  rose  above  the  grovelling  ideas  of  the  temple 
and  the  market-place.  The  people  who  know  not  the 
law,  are  often  better  off  than  the  sage  or  the  sooth- 
sayer, for  they  know  only  what  it  is  needed  to  know. 
"  He  is  oft  the  wisest  man  that  is  not  wise  at  all." 
Religion  lies  so  close  to  men,  that  a  pure  heart  and 
mind,  free  from  prejudice,  see  its  truths,  its  duties,  and 
hopes.     But  before  mankind  passes  from  fetichism  to 

*It  still  remains  unexplained  how  the  Athenians,  on  a  re- 
ligious festival,  could  applaud  the  exhibitions  of  the  comic 
drama,  which  exposed  the  popular  mv^hology  to  ridicule,  as  it 
is  done  in  the  Birds  of  Aristophanes  -  to  mention  a  smgle  ex- 
ample—and still  continue  the  popular  worship. 


74.  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

pure  monotheism,  at  a  certain  stage  of  religious  pro- 
gress, there  are  two  subordinate  forms  of  religious 
speculation,  which  claim  the  attention  of  the  race, 
namely,  dualism  and  pantheism.  The  one  is  the  high- 
est form  of  polytheism;  the  other  a  degenerate  ex- 
pression of  monotheism,  and  both  together  form  the 
logical  tie  between  the  two. 

Dualism  is  the  deification  of  two  principles,  the  ab- 
solute good  and  the  greatest  evil.  The  origin  of  this 
form  of  religious  speculation  has  been  already  hinted 
at.*  Philosophically  stated,  it  is  the  recognition  of 
two  absolute  beings,  the  one  supreme  good,  the  other 
supreme  evil.  But  this  involves  a  contradiction :  for  if 
the  good  be  absolute,  evil  is  not,  and  the  reverse. 
Another  form,  therefore,  was  invented.  The  good 
being  was  absolute  and  infinite;  the  evil  principle  was 
originally  good,  but  did  not  keep  his  first  estate.  Here 
also  was  another  difficulty:  an  independent  and  divine 
being  cannot  be  mutable  and  frail,  therefore  the  evil 
principle  must  of  necessity  be  a  dependent  creature, 
and  not  divine  in  the  proper  sense.  So  a  third  form 
takes  place,  in  which  it  is  supposed  that  both  the  good 
and  the  evil  are  emanations  from  one  absolute  being, 
that  evil  is  only  negative  and  will  at  last  end ;  that  all 
wicked,  as  all  good  principles  are  subject  to  the  In- 
finite God.  At  this  point  dualism  coalesces  with  the 
doctrine  of  one  god  and  dies  its  death.  This  system 
of  dualism,  in  its  various  forms,  has  extended  widely. 
It  seems  to  have  been  most  fully  developed  in  Persia. 
It  came  early  into  the  Christian  church,  and  still  retains 
its  hold  throughout  the  greater  part  of  Christendom, 

*See  above,  ch.  IV. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  76 

though  it  is  fast  dying  away  before  the  advance  of 
reason  and  faith.* 

Pantheism  has,  perhaps,  never  been  altogether  a 
stranger  to  the  world.  It  makes  all  things  God,  and 
God  all  things.  This  view  seems  at  first  congenial 
to  a  poetic  and  religious  mind.  If  the  world  be  re- 
garded as  a  collection  of  powers, —  the  awful  force 
of  the  storm,  of  the  thunder,  the  earthquake ;  the  huge 
magnificence  of  the  ocean,  in  its  slumber  or  its  wrath; 
the  sublimity  of  the  ever  during  hills ;  the  rocks,  which 
resist  all  but  the  unseen  hand  of  time;  these  might 
lead  to  the  thought  that  matter  is  God.  If  men  looked 
at  the  order,  fitness,  beauty,  love,  everywhere  apparent 
in  nature,  the  impression  is  confirmed.  The  all  of 
things  appears  so  beautiful  to  the  comprehensive  eye, 
that  we  almost  think  it  is  its  own  cause  and  creator. 
The  animals  find  their  support  and  their  pleasure ;  the 
painted  leopard  and  the  snowy  swan,  each  living  by  its 
own  law ;  the  bird  of  passage  that  pursues,  from  zone 

*The  doctrine  of  two  principles  is  older  than  the  time  of 
Zoroaster.  Hyde,  Hist  Religion,  vet.  Persarum.  Ch.  IX.  and 
XX.  XXII.  Bayle's  Dictionary,  article  Zoroaster,  Vol.  V.  p. 
636.  See  also  Cudworth,  Ch.  IV.  §  13,  p.  289,  et  seq.,  and 
Mosheim's  Notes,  Vol.  I.  p.  320,  et  seq.  Rhode,  Heilige  Sage 
der  Zendvolks,  B.  II.  Ch.  IX.  X.  XII.  Brucker,  Historia  Philo- 
sophiae,  Vol.  I.  p.  176,  et  seq.  Plutarch  was  a  dualist  though 
in  a  modified  sense.  See  his  Isis  and  Osiris,  and  Psychogonia. 
Marcion,  among  the  early  Christians,  was  accused  of  this  bcUcf, 
and  indeed  the  existence  of  a  devil  is  stiU  believed  by  most 
Christian  divines  to  be  second  only  in  importance  to  the  bcUef 
of  a  God;  at  the  very  least  a  scriptural  doctrine,  and  of  greet 
value.  See  a  curious  book  of  Mayer  (Historia  Diaboli),  who 
thinks  it  a  matter  of  divine  revelation.  See  also  the  mgemous 
remarks  of  Professor  Woods,  in  his  translation  of  Knapps 
Theology;  New  York,  1831,  Vol.  I.  §  62-66,  et  seq^  S«  t^ 
early  forms  of  Dualism  among  the  Christians  in  Bcausobit^ 
Histoire  de  Manich6e  et  du  Manich6isme,  2  Vols.  4to. 


76  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

to  zone,  its  unmarked  path ;  the  summer  warbler  which 
sings  out  its  melodious  existence  in  the  woodbine;  the 
flowers  that  come  unasked,  charming  the  youthful  year ; 
the  golden  fruit  maturing  in  its  wilderness  of  green; 
the  dew  and  the  rainbow ;  the  frost  flake  and  the  moun- 
tain snow ;  the  glories  that  wait  upon  the  morning,  or 
sing  the  sun  to  his  ambrosial  rest ;  the  pomp  of  the  sun 
at  noon,  amid  the  clouds  of  a  June  day;  the  awful 
majesty  of  night,  when  all  the  stars  with  a  serene  step 
come  out,  and  tread  their  round,  and  seem  to  watch 
in  blest  tranquility  about  the  slumbering  world;  the 
moon  waning  and  waxing,  walking  in  beauty  through 
the  night : —  daily  the  water  is  rough  with  the  winds ; 
they  come  or  abide  at  no  man's  bidding,  and  roll  the 
yellow  com,  or  wake  religious  music  at  nightfall  in  the 
pines  —  these  things  are  all  so  fair,  so  wondrous,  so 
wrapt  in  mystery,  it  is  no  marvel  that  men  say,  This  is 
divine;  yes,  the  all  is  God;  he  is  the  light  of  the 
morning,  the  beauty  of  the  noon,  and  the  strength  of 
the  sun.  The  little  grass  grows  by  his  presence.  He 
preserveth  the  cedars.  The  stars  are  serene  because  he 
is  in  them.  The  lilies  are  redolent  of  God.  He  is  the 
one;  the  all.  God  is  the  mind  of  man.  The  soul  of 
all;  more  moving  than  motion;  more  stable  than  rest; 
fairer  than  beauty,  and  stronger  than  strength.  The 
power  of  nature  is  God ;  the  universe,  broad  and  deep 
and  high,  a  handful  of  dust,  which  God  enchants.  He 
is  the  mysterious  magic  that  possesses  the  world.  Yes, 
he  is  the  all;  the  reality  of  all  phenomena. 

But  an  old  writer  thus  pleasantly  rebukes  this  con- 
clusion, "  Surely,  vain  are  all  men  by  nature,  who  are 
ignorant  of  God,  and  could  not  out  of  the  good  things 
that  are  seen,  know  him  that  is  .  .  .  but  deemed  either 
fire,  or  wind,  or  the  swift  air,  or  the  circle  of  the 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  77 

stars,  or  the  violent  water,  or  the  ligfits  of  heaven,  to 
be  the  gods  which  govern  the  world.  With  whose 
beauty  if  they  being  dehghted  took  them  to  be  god«; 
let  them  know  how  much  better  the  Lord  of  them  i«, 
for  the  first  Author  of  beauty  had  created  them."  • 

To  view  the  subject  in  a  philosophical  and  abstract 
way,  pantheism  is  the  worship  of  all  as  God.  He  is 
the  one  and  all;  not  conceived  as  distinct  from  the 
universe,  nor  independent  of  it.  It  is  said  to  have  pre- 
vailed widely  in  ancient  times,  and,  if  we  may  believe 
what  is  reported,  it  has  not  ended  with  Spinoza.  It 
may  be  divided  into  two  forms,  material  pantheism, 
sometimes  called  hylozoism,  and  spiritual  pantheism, 
or  psycho-zoism.  Material  pantheism  affirms  the  ex- 
istence of  matter,  but  denies  the  existence  of  spirit,  or 
any  thing  besides  matter.  Creation  is  not  possible; 
the  phenomena  of  nature  and  life  are  not  the  result  of 
a  "  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms,"  as  in  atheism,  but 

*  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  Ch.  XIII.  1,  et  seq.  At  the  present 
day  Pantheism  seems  to  be  the  bugbear  of  some  excellent  per- 
sons. They  see  it  everywhere  except  on  the  dark  walls  of  their 
own  churches.  The  disciples  of  Locke  find  it  in  all  schools  of 
philosophy  but  the  Sensual;  the  followers  of  Calvin  see  it  in 
the  liberal  churches.  It  has  become  dangerous  to  say  "  Ood  i$ 
Spirit;"  a  definite  God,  whose  personality  we  understand,  is 
the  orthodox  article.  M.  Maret,  in  his  Essai  sur  le  Pantheisme 
dans  les  Societes  modernes;  Paris,  1840,  1  vol.  8vo,  finds  it 
the  natural  result  of  Protestantism,  and  places  before  us  the 
pleasant  alternatives,  either  the  Catholic  Church  or  Pantheism! 
Preface,  p.  xv.  et  al.  The  rationalism  of  the  nineteenth  century 
must  end  in  scepticism,  or  leap  over  to  Pantheism!  According 
to  him  all  the  philosophers  of  the  spiritual  school  in  our  day 
are  Pantheists.— Formerly  divines  condemned  PhUosophy  be- 
cause it  had  too  little  of  God;  now  because  it  has  too  muck. 
It  would  seem  difficult  to  get  the  orthodox  medium;  too  much 
and  too  littie  are  found  equally  dangerous.  See  the  pleasant 
remarks  of  Hegel  on  this  charge  of  Pantheism,  Encyclopadie 
der  philosoph.  Wissenschaften,  etc.,  third  ediUon,  §  573. 


78  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

of  laws  in  nature  itself.  Matter  is  in  a  constant  flux ; 
but  it  changes  only  by  laws  which  are  themselves  im- 
mutable. Of  course  this  does  not  admit  God  as  the 
absolute  or  infinite,  but  the  sum  total  of  material 
things;  He  is  limited  both  to  the  extension  and  the 
qualities  of  matter;  He  is  merely  immanent  therein, 
but  does  not  transend  material  forms.  This  seems  to 
have  been  the  pantheism  of  Strato  of  Lampsacus,  of 
Democritus,  perhaps  of  Hippocrates,  and  as  some 
think,  though  erroneously,  of  Xenophanes,  Parmeni- 
des,  and,  in  general,  of  the  Eleatic  philosophers  in 
Greece,*  and  of  many  others  whose  tendency  is  more 
spiritual,  f  Its  philosophic  form  is  the  last  result  of 
an  attempt  to  form  an  adequate  conception  of  God. 
It  has  sometimes  been  called  Kosmo-theism,  (World- 
Divinity),  but  it  gives  us  a  world  without  a  God. 

Spiritual  pantheism  affirms  the  existence  of  spirit, 
and  sometimes,  either  expressly,  or  by  implication,  de- 
nies the  existence  of  matter.  This  makes  all  spirit 
God;  always  the  same,  but  ever  unfolding  into  new 
forms,  and  therefore  a  perpetual  becoming;  God  is 
the  absolute  substance,  with  these  two  attributes  — 
thought  and  extension.  He  is  self-conscious  in  men; 
without  self -consciousness  in  animals.    Before  the  crea- 

*  See  Karsten,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  and  II.  See  the  opinions  of 
these  men  ably  summed  up  by  Ritter,  Geschichte  der  Philoso- 
phie.  Vol.  I.  B.  V.  and  Brandis,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  §  66-72.  Cud- 
worth  has  many  fine  observations  on  this  sort  of  Pantheism, 
Vol.  I.  Ch.  IV.  §  15-26,  and  elsewhere.  He  denies  that  this 
school  make  the  deity  corporeal,  and  charges  this  upon  others. 
See  Ch.  III. 

tSee  Jasche,  Der  Pantheismus,  etc.  Vols.  II.  and  III.  pas- 
sim, and  the  histories  of  Philosophy.  If  a  man  is  curious  to 
detect  a  pantheistic  tendency  he  will  find  it  in  the  Soul  of-the- 
world,  among  the  ancients,  in  the  Plastic  Nature  of  Cudworth, 
or  the  Hylarchic  Principle  of  Henry  More. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  79 

tion  of  men  he  was  not  self-  conscious.  'All  beside  God 
IS  devoid  of  substantiality.  It  is  not  but  only  appears  ; 
Its  being  is  its  being  seen.,  This  is  psycho-theism 
(Soul  Divinity).  It  gives  us  a  God  without  a  world, 
and  He  is  the  only  cause  that  exists,  the  sum-total  of 
spirit ;  immanent  in  spirit  but  not  transcending  spirit- 
ual manifestations.  This  was  the  pantheism  of  Spinoza 
and  some  others.  It  lies  at  the  bottom  of  many  mys- 
tical discourses,  and  appears,  more  or  less,  in  most 
of  the  pious  and  spiritual  writers  of  the  middle  ages, 
who  confound  the  divine  being  with  their  own  per- 
sonality, and  yet  find  some  support  for  their  doctrines 
in  the  language,  more  or  less  figurative,  of  the  New 
Testament. 

This  system  appears  more  or  less,  in  the  writings  of 
John  the  Evangelist,  in  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  and 
the  many  authors  who  have  drawn  from  him.  It  tinges 
in  some  measure  the  spiritual  philosophy  of  the  present 
day.*  But  the  charge  of  pantheism  is  very  vague,  and 
is  usually  urged  most  by  such  as  know  little  of  ita 
meaning.  He  who  conceives  of  God,  as  transcending 
creation  indeed,  but  yet  at  the  same  time,  as  the  Im- 
manent Cause  of  all  things,  as  infinitely  present,  and 

*  See  the  curious  forms  this  assumes  in  Theologia  Mystica 
.  .  .  speculativa  .  .  .  et  alFectiva,  per  Henric,  Harph.  etc.; 
Colon.  1538.  Jasche  and  Maret  find  it  in  all  the  modern  spiritual 
philosophy.  Indeed  the  two  rocks  that  threaten  theology  seem 
to  be  a  Theosophy  which  resolves  all  into  God,  and  Anthropo- 
morphism, which  in  fact  denies  the  infinite.  This  mystical 
tendency,  popularly  denominated  Pantheism,  appears  in  the 
ancient  religions  of  the  East;  it  enters  largely  into  the  doctrine 
of  the  Sufis,  a  Mahometan  sect.  See  Tholuck,  Bluthensammlung 
aus  der  morgenlandischen  Mystik,  p.  33,  et  seq.  and  passim. 
Von  Hammer  also,  in  his  Geschichte  der  schonen  Redekunste 
Persens,  etc.  p.  340  et  seq.  347,  et  seq.  et  al.  gives  extracts 
from  these  Oriental  speculators  who  are  more  or  less  justly 
charged  with  Pantheism. 


80  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

infinitely  active,  with  no  limitations,  is  sure  to  be  called 
a  pantheist  in  these  days,  as  he  would  have  passed  for 
an  Atheist  two  centuries  ago.  Some  who  have  been 
called  by  this  easy  but  obnoxious  name,  both  in  an- 
cient and  modem  times,  have  been  philosophical  de- 
fenders of  the  doctrine  of  one  God,  but  have  given 
him  the  historical  form  neither  of  Brahma  nor  Jeho- 
vah.* 

III.  Monotheism  is  the  worship  of  one  Supreme 
God.  It  may  admit  numerous  divine  beings  superior 
to  men,  yet  beneath  the  Supreme  Divinity,  as  the  Jews, 
the  Mahometans,  and  the  Christians  have  done;  or  it 
may  deny  these  subsidiary  beings,  as  some  philos- 
ophers have  taught.  The  idea  of  God  to  which  mon- 
otheism ultimately  attains,  is  that  of  a  Being  infi- 
nitely powerful,  wise,  and  good.  He  may,  however, 
be  supposed  to  manifest  himself  in  OTie  form  only,  as 
the  Jehovah  of  the  Hebrews,  and  the  Allah  of  the 
Mahometans;  in  three  forms,  as  the  Triune  God  of 
most  Christians ;  or  in  all  forms,  as  the  Pan  and 
Brahma  of  the  Greek  and  Indian  —  for  it  is  indiff^er- 
ent  whether  we  ascribe  no  form  or  all  forms  to  the 
Infinite. 

*  The  writings  of  Spinoza  have  hitherto  been  supposed  to 
contain  the  most  pernicious  form  of  Pantheism;  but  of  late, 
the  poison  has  been  detected  also  in  the  works  of  Schleiermacher, 
Fichte,  Schelling,  Hegel,  Cousin,  not  to  mention  others  of  less 
note.  Pantheism  is  a  word  of  convenient  ambiguity,  and  serves 
as  well  to  express  the  theological  odium  as  the  more  ancient 
word  Atheism,  which  has  been  deemed  by  some  synonymous 
with  Philosophy.  See  the  recent  controversial  writings  of  Mr. 
Norton  and  Mr.  Ripley,  respecting  the  Pantheism  of  Spinoza 
and  Schleiermacher.  It  has  been  well  said,  the  question  between 
the  alleged  Pantheist  and  the  pure  Theist,  is  simply  this:  Is  Ood 
the  immanent  cause  of  the  World,  or  is  he  not?  See  Sengler 
Die  Idee  Gottes.  B.  I.  p.  10,  107,  899. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  81 

Since  the  form  of  monontheism  prevails  at  this  day, 
little  need  be  said  to  portray  its  most  important  fea- 
tures.* It  annihilates  all  distinction  of  nations,  tribes, 
and  men.  There  is  one  God  for  all  mankind.  He  has 
no  favorites,  but  is  the  equal  Father  of  them  all.  War 
and  slavery  are  repugnant  to  its  spirit,  for  men  are 
brothers.  There  is  no  envy,  strife,  or  confusion  in  the 
divine  consciousness,  to  justify  hostility  among  men; 
He  hears  equally  the  prayer  of  all  and  gives  them  in- 
finite good  at  last.  No  priesthood  is  needed  to  serve 
Him.  Under  fetichism  every  man  could  have  access 
to  his  God,  for  divine  symbols  were  more  numerous 
than  men ;  miracles  were  performed  every  day ;  inspira- 
tion was  common,  but  of  little  value ;  the  favor  of  the 
gods  was  supposed  to  give  a  wonderful  and  miracu- 
lous command  over  Nature.  Under  polytheism,  only 
a  chosen  few  had  direct  access  to  God;  an  appointed 
priesthood  I  a  sacerdotal  caste.  They  stood  between 
men  and  the  gods.  Divine  symbols  became  more  rare. 
Inspiration  was  not  usual;  a  miracle  was  a  most  un- 
common thing;  the  favorites  of  heaven  were  children 
born  of  the  gods;  admitted  to  intercourse  with  them, 
or  enabled  by  them  to  do  wonderful  works.  Now 
monontheism  would  restore  inspiration  to  all.  By  rep- 
resenting God  as  spiritual  and  omnipresent,  it  brings 
him  within  every  man's  reach;  by  making  Him  infi- 
nitely perfect,  it  shows  his  wisdom,  love,  and  will 
always  the  same.  Therefore,  it  annihilates  favoritism 
and  all  capricious  miracles.  Inspiration,  like  the  sun- 
light, awaits  all  who  will  accept  its  conditions.  All 
are  Sons  of  God;  they  only  are  his  favored  ones  who 
serve  him  best.  No  day,  nor  spot,  nor  deed,  is  exclu- 
sively sacred;  but  all  time,  and  each  place,  and  every 
noble  act.     The  created  all  is  a  symbol  of  God. 

*  Sermons  of  Theism,  etc.  Sermon  V.  and  VI. 
Ill— 6 


82  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

But  here  also  human  perversity  and  ignorance  have 
done  their  work;  have  attempted  to  lessen  the  sym- 
bols of  the  deity;  to  make  him  of  difficult  access;  to 
bar  up  the  fountain  of  truth  and  source  of  light  still 
more  than  under  polytheism,  by  the  establishment  of 
places  and  times,  of  rituals  and  creeds ;  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  exclusive  priests  to  mediate,  where  no  media- 
tor is  needed  or  possible;  by  the  notion  that  God  is 
capricious,  revengeful,  uncertain,  partial  to  individuals 
or  nations ;  by  taking  a  few  doctrines  and  insisting  on 
exclusive  belief;  by  selecting  a  few  from  the  many 
alleged  miracles,  insisting  that  these,  and  these  alone 
shall  be  accepted,  and  thus  making  the  religious  duty 
of  men  arbitrary  and  almost  contemptible.  Still,  how- 
ever, no  human  ignorance,  no  perversity,  no  pride  of 
priest  or  king,  can  long  prevent  this  doctrine  from  do- 
ing its  vast  and  beautiful  work.  It  struggles  mightily 
with  the  sin  and  superstition  of  the  world,  and  at  last 
will  overcome  them. 

The  history  of  this  doctrine  is  instructive.  It  was 
said  above  there  were  three  elements  to  be  considered 
in  this  matter,  namely,  the  sentiment  of  God ;  the  idea 
of  God;  and  the  conception  of  God.  The  sentiment 
is  vague  and  mysterious,  but  always  the  same  thing 
in  kind,  only  felt  more  or  less  strongly,  and  with  more 
or  less  admixture  of  foreign  elements.  The  idea  is 
always  the  same  in  itself,  as  it  is  implied  and  writ  in 
man's  constitution;  but  is  seen  with  more  or  less  of  a 
distinct  consciousness.  Both  of  these  lead  to  unity 
to  monotheism,  and  accordingly,  in  the  prayers  and 
hymns,  the  festivals  and  fasts  of  fetichists  and  poly- 
theists  we  find  often  as  clear  and  definite  intimations 
of  monotheism,  as  in  the  devotional  writings  of  pro- 
fessed monotheists.    In  this  sense  the  doctrine  is  old  as 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  83 

human  civilization,  and  has  never  been  lost  sight  of. 
This  is  so  plain  it  requires  no  proof.  But  the  concep- 
tion of  God,  which  men  superadd  to  the  sentiment 
and  idea  of  him,  is  continually  changing  with  the  ad- 
vance of  the  world,  of  the  nation,  or  the  man.  We 
can  trace  its  historical  development  in  the  writings  of 
priests,  and  philosophers,  and  poets,  though  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  when  and  where  it  was  first  taught  with 
distinct  philosophical  consciousness,  that  there  is  one 
God;  one  only.  The  history  of  this  subject  demands 
a  treatise  by  itself.*  This,  however,  is  certain,  that  we 
find  signs  and  proofs  of  its  existence  among  the  earliest 
poets  and  philosophers  of  Greece ;  in  the  dim  remnants 
of  Egyptian  splendor ;  in  the  uncertain  records  of  the 
East;  in  the  spontaneous  effusions  of  savage  hearts, 
.  and  in  the  most  ancient  writings  of  the  Jews.  The 
latter  have  produced  such  an  influence  on  the  world, 
that  their  doctrine  requires  a  few  words  on  this  point. 

*Meiners,  in  his  work,  Historia  Doctrinae  de  vero  Deo,  etc; 
1  vol.  12mo,  1780  (which,  though  celebrated,  is  a  passionate 
and  one-sided  book,  altogether  unworthy  of  the  subject,  and 
"behind  the  times"  of  its  composition),  maintains  that  the 
heathens  knew  nothing  of  the  one  God  till  about  3554  years 
after  the  creation  of  the  world,  when  Anaxagoras  helped  them 
to  his  doctrine.  See,  on  the  other  hand,  the  broad  and  philoso- 
phical views  of  Cudworth,  Ch.  IV.  passim,  who,  however,  seems 
sometimes  to  push  his  hypothesis  too  far.  A  history  of  Mono- 
theism is  still  to  be  desired,  though  Tenneman,  Ritter,  Brandis, 
and  even  Brucker,  have  coUected  many  facts,  and  formed  valua- 
ble contributions  to  such  a  work.  Munscher  has  collected  valua- 
ble passages  from  the  Fathers,  relating  to  the  history  of  the 
doctrine  among  the  Christians,  and  their  controversies  with  the 
heathen,  in  his  Lehrbuch  der  Christlichen  Dogmengeschichte,  3d 
ed.  by  Von  Coin,  Vol.  I.  Ch.  VI.  §  52,  et  seq.  But  Warburton. 
who  wrote  like  an  attorney,  gives  the  most  erroneous  Judgments 
upon  the  ancient  heathen  doctrine  respecting  the  unity  of  Ooo. 
See  the  temperate  remarks  of  Mosheim,  De  Recusante,  Constant, 
etc.,  p.  17,  et  seq. 


84  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

The  deity  was  conceived  of  by  the  Hebrews  as  en- 
tirely separate  from  nature ;  this  distinguishes  Judaism 
from  all  forms  which  had  a  pantheistic  tendency,  and 
which  deified  matter  or  men.  He  was  the  primitive 
ground  and  cause  of  all.  But  the  Jewish  religion  did 
not,  with  logical  consistency,  deny  the  existence  of 
other  gods,  inferior  to  the  highest.  Here  we  must 
consider  the  doctrine  of  the  Jewish  books,  and  that  of 
the  Jewish  people.  In  the  first  the  reality  of  other 
dieties  is  generally  assumed.  The  first  commandment 
of  the  decalogue  implies  the  existence  of  other  gods. 
The  mention  of  Sons  of  God  who  visited  the  daughters 
of  men  ;*  of  the  divine  council  or  host  of  heaven  ;f  the 
contract  Jacob  makes  with  Jehovah ; J  the  frequent  ref- 
erence to  strange  gods ;  the  preeminence  claimed  for 
Jehovah  above  all  the  deities  of  the  other  nations  § — 
these  things  show  that  the  mind  of  the  writers  was  not 
decided  in  favor  of  the  exclusive  existence  of  Jehovah. 
The  people  and  their  kings  before  the  exile  were 
strongly  inclined  to  a  mingled  worship  of  fetichism 
and  polytheism,  a  medium  between  the  ideal  religion 
of  Moses  and  the  actual  worship  of  the  Canaanites. 
It  is  difficult  in  the  present  state  of  critical  investiga- 
tion, to  determine  nicely  the  date  of  all  the  different 
books  of  the  Jews,  but  this  may  be  safely  said,  that  the 
early  books  have  more  of  a  polytheistic  tendency  than 
the  writings  of  the  later  prophets,  for  at  length,  both 

*  Gen.  VI.  2. 

tGen.  III.  22;  1  Kings  XXII.  19;  Job  11.  1. 

t  Gen.  XXVIII.  20,  22,  comp.  Herodotus,  IV.  179. 

§  See  the  numerous  passages  where  Jehovah  is  spoken  of  as 
the  chief  of  the  Gods:  2  Chr.  II.  5;  Ps.  XCV.  XCVII.  7,  et 
seq.;  Ex.  XII.  12,  XV.  11,  XVIII.  11,  etc.,  etc.  Strabo,  ubi 
sup.  Lib.  XVI.  Ch.  II.  §  35,  gives  a  strange  account  of  the 
Jewish  theology. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  85 

the  learned  and  the  unlearned  became  pure  monothe- 
ists.*  At  first  Jehovah  and  the  Elohim  seem  to  be  rec- 
ognized as  joint  gods;f  but  at  the  end  Jehovah  is  the 
only  god. 

But  the  character  assigned  him  is  fluctuating.  He 
is  always  the  creator  and  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
yet  is  not  always  represented  as  the  father  of  all  na- 
tions, but  of  the  Jews  only,  who  will  punish  the  hea- 
thens with  the  most  awful  severity  .J  In  some  parts  of 
the  Old  Testament  he  is  almighty,  omnipresent,  and 
omniscient;  eternal  and  unalterable.  But  in  others  he 
is  represented  with  limitations  in  respect  to  all  these 
attributes.  Not  only  are  the  sensual  perceptions  of  a 
man  ascribed  to  him,  for  this  is  unavoidable  in  popular 
speech,  but  he  walks  on  the  earth,  eats  with  Abraham, 
wrestles  with  Jacob,  appears  in  a  visible  form  to  Moses, 
tempts  men,  speaks  in  human  speech,  is  pleased  with 
the  fragment  sacrifice,  sleeps  and  awakes,  rises  early  in 
the    morning;    is    jealous,    passionate,    revengeful. § 

*  Compare  with  the  former  passages,  Jer.  II.  26-28;  Isa. 
XLIV.  6-20;  Deut.  IV.  28,  et  seq.,  XXXII.  16,  17,  39;  Ps. 
CXV.  CXXXV.  and  Ecclesiasticus  XXXIII.  5,  XLIII.  28; 
Wisdom  of  Sol.  XII.  13;  Baruch  III.  35.  See  de  Wette,  Bib. 
Dogmatik,  §  97,  et  seq.,  and  149,  et  seq.,  who  has  collected  some 
of  the  most  important  passages.  See  too  his  Wesen  des  Glau- 
bens,  etc.,  §  14,  p.  72  et  seq. 

tSee  Bauer,  Dicta,  Classica,  V.  T.  etc.;  1798,  Vol.  I.  §  41, 
et  seq.  See  also  the  treatise  of  Stahl  on  the  Appearances  of 
God,  etc.  in  Eichhorn,  BibUothek  der  Bib.  Lit  VoL  VII.  p.  156, 
et  seq. 

$See  an  able  article  on  "the  Relation  of  Jehovah  to  the 
Heathen,"  in  Eichhorn,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  VIII.  p.  222,  et  seq.  See 
Ammon,  Fortbildung  des  Christenthums ;  Leip.  1836,  et  seq. 
Vol.   I.   Book  I.  ch.   I. 

§  Lessing  well  says,  the  Hebrews  proceeded  from  the  concep- 
tion of  the  most  powerful  God  to  that  of  the  only  God,  but  re- 
mained for  a  long  time  far  below  the  true  transcendent  notion 
of  the  one  true  God.    "  Education  of  the  human  race,"  Werkcj 


86  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

However,  in  other  passages  the  loftiest  attributes  are 
assigned  him.  He  is  the  God  of  infinite  love;  father 
of  all,  who  possesses  the  the  earth  and  heavens. 

The  conception  which  a  man  forms  of  God,  depends 
on  the  character  and  attainment  of  the  man  himself; 
this  differed  with  individual  Jews  as  with  the  Greeks, 
the  Christians,  and  the  Mahometans.  However,  this 
must  be  confessed,  that  under  the  guidance  of  divine 
providence,  the  great  and  beautiful  doctrine  of  one 
god  for  the  Hebrews  seems  very  early  embraced  by 
the  great  Jewish  lawgiver ;  incorporated  in  his  national 
legislation;  and  defended  with  rigorous  enactions.  At 
our  day  it  is  difficult  to  understand  the  service  ren- 
dered to  the  human  race  by  the  mighty  soul  of  Moses, 
and  that  a  thousand  years  before  Anaxagoras.*  His 
name  is  ploughed  into  the  history  of  the  world.  His 
influence  can  never  die.  It  must  have  been  a  vast  soul, 
endowed  with  moral  and  religious  genius  to  a  degree 
extraordinary   among  men,   which  at  that  early  age 

ed.  1824.  Vol.  XXIV.  p.  43-4.  See  also  on  this  subject  of 
Hebrew  Theism,  the  valuable  but  somewhat  one-sided  views  of 
Vatke,  Bib.  Theologie,  Vol.  I.  §  44,  et  seq.  But  see  also  Sal- 
vador, Hist,  des  Institutions  de  Moise,  etc.;  Brussels,  1830.  Vol. 
III.  p.  175,  et  seq. 

At  first  Christian  artists  found  it  in  bad  taste  and  even 
heathenish  to  paint  the  almighty  in  any  form.  Then,  in  deco- 
rating churches  and  MSS.  with  pictures  drawn  from  O.  S.  stories, 
they  often  put  only  a  hand  for  God,  or  omitting  that,  put 
Christ  for  the  Father.  See  Didron,  Iconographie  Chr^tienne; 
Paris,  1843,  p.  174,  et  seq.  See  the  nice  distinction  made  by 
John  of  Damascus  in  regard  to  images  of  God,  Orat.  I.  in 
Imaginibus;  0pp.  ed.  Basil,  1574,  p.  701,  et  seq.  et  al.  Before 
the  twelfth  century  it  seems  there  were  no  pictures  of  God 
from  Christian  artists.  Afterwards  the  Italians  painted  him  as 
a  Pope;  the  Germans  as  an  Emperor,  the  French  and  English 
as  a  King.     Didron,  ubi  sup.  p.  230,  et  seq. 

*  Constant,  Liv.  IV.  ch.  XI.  has  some  just  remarks  on  the 
excellence  of  the  Hebrew  theology. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  87 

could  attempt  to  found  a  state  on  tfie  doctrine  and 
worship  of  one  national  God. 

Was  he  the  first  of  the  come-outers?  Or  had  others, 
too  far  before  the  age  for  its  acceptance,  perished 
before  him  in  the  greatness  of  their  endeavor?  His- 
tory is  silent.*  But  the  bodies  of  many  prophets  must 
be  rolled  into  the  gulf  that  yawns  wide  and  deep  be- 
tween the  ideal  and  the  actual,  before  the  successful 
man  comes  in  the  fulness  of  time,  at  God's  command, 
to  lead  men  into  the  promised  land,  reaping  what  they 
did  not  sow.  These  men  have  risen  up  in  all  coun- 
tries and  every  time.  In  the  rudest  ages  as  in  the 
most  refined,  they  look  through  the  glass  of  nature, 
seeing  clearly  the  invisible  things  of  God,  and  by  the 
things  that  are  made  and  the  feelings  felt,  understand- 
ing his  eternal  power  and  godhead.  They  adored 
him  as  the  spirit  who  dwells  in  the  sun,  looks  through 
the  stars,  speaks  in  the  wind,  controls  the  world,  is 
chief  of  all  powers,  animal,  material,  spiritual,  and 
father  of  all  men  —  their  dear  and  blessed  God.  In 
his  light  they  loved  to  live,  nor  feared  to  die. 

■  * 

There  is  a  great  advance  from  the  fetichism  of  the 
Canaanite  to  the  theism  of  Moses ;  from  the  rude  con- 
ceptions of  the  New  Zealander  to  the  refined  notions 
of  an  enlightened  Christian.  Ages  of  progress  and 
revolution  seem  to  separate  them,  so  different  is  their 
theology.  Yet  the  religion  of  each  is  the  same,  dis- 
tinguished only  by  the  more  and  less.     The  change 

*  It  is  difficult  to  determine  accurately  the  date  of  events  in 
Chinese  history,  such  are  the  pretensions  of  Chinese  scholars  on 
the  one  hand,  and  such  the  bigoted  scepticism  of  dogmatists  on 
the  other;  but  see  the  Chinese  Classical  Work,  commonly  oOled 
the  Four  Books,  translated  by  David  Pollie;  Malacca,  18^9,  1 
yol  8v9,    jSee  Cantu,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  III.  ch.  XXI.  et  seq. 


88  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

from  one  of  these  three  religious  types  to  the  other  is 
slow;  but  attended  with  tumult,  war,  and  suffering. 
In  the  ancient  civilized  nations,  little  is  known  of  their 
passage  from  fetichism  to  polytheism.  It  took  place 
at  an  early  age  of  the  world,  before  written  documents 
were  common.  We  have,  therefore,  no  records  to  verify 
this  passage  in  the  history  of  the  Greeks,  Egyptians, 
or  Hebrews.  Yet  in  the  earliest  periods  of  each  of 
these  nations  we  find  monuments  which  show  that 
fetichism  was  not  far  off,  and  furnish  a  lingering  but 
imperfect  evidence  of  the  fierce  struggle  which  had 
gone  on.  The  wrecks  of  fetichism  strew  the  shores  of 
Greece  and  Egypt.  Judea  furnishes  us  with  some 
familiar  examples.* 

In  the  patriarchal  times,  if  we  may  trust  the  mythi- 
cal stories  in  Genesis,  we  find  sacred  stones  which  seem 
to  be  fetiches,  stone-pillars ,t  idolatry,!  worship  of 
Ramphan  and  Chiun  while  in  Egypt  and  the  desert  ;§ 
the  golden  calf  of  Aaron  and  that  of  Jeroboam  ;||  and 
the   goats   that   were  worshipped   in   the   wilderness.! 

*  The  legendary  character  of  the  Pentateuch  renders  it  unsafe 
to  depend  entirely  on  its  historical  statements.  Many  passages 
seem  to  have  been  originally  designed,  or  at  least  retouched,  by 
some  one  who  sought  to  enhance  the  difference  between  Moses 
and  the  people.  Still,  the  "general  drift"  of  the  tradition  is 
not  to  be  mistaken,  and  can  scarcely  be  wrong.  The  testimony 
of  the  prophets  respecting  the  early  state  of  the  nation,  is 
more  valuable  than  that  of  the  Pentateuch  itself.  See  De  Wette, 
Introduction  to  the  O.  T.,  tr.  by  Theo.  Parker;  Boston,  1843, 
Vol.  II.  passim.  See  too,  Ewald,  Geschichte  des  Volks  Israel, 
Vol.  I.;  Gott.,  1843. 

t  Gen.  XXVIII.  18,  XXXV.  14. 

$Gen.  XXXI.  19,  XXXV.  1-4. 

§See  Josh.  XXIV.  14;  Ezek.  XX.  7,  et  seq.  XXIII.  3;  Amos, 
V.  25,  26;  Exod.  XXXII.  1;  Lev.  XVII. 

||Exod.  XXXII.  1-6;  1  Kings  XII.  28;  Ezek.  I.  10,  and  X. 
14. 

f^Levit.  XVII.  7.    Devils,  in  our  version. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  89 

Besides,  we  find  the  worship  of  the  serpent,*  a  relic  of 
the  superstition  of  Egypt  or  Phoenicia;  the  worship  of 
Baal  in  its  various  forms ;f  of  Astarte  "Heaven's 
Queen  and  Mother;"  of  Thammuz,  and  Moloch ;t  all 
of  which  seem  to  be  remains  of  fetichism.§  In  the 
very  law  itself  we  find  traces  of  fetichism.  The  pro- 
hibition of  certain  kinds  of  food,  garments,  and  sac- 
rifices ;  the  forms  of  divination,  the  altars,  feasts,  sac- 
rifices, scape-goat,  the  ornaments  of  the  priest's  dress, 
all  seem  to  have  grown  out  of  the  rude  worship  that 
formerly  prevailed.  The  old  idolatry  was  spiritualized, 
its  forms  modified  and  made  to  serve  for  the  worship 
of  Jehovah.  The  frequent  relapses  of  king  and  people 
prove,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  nation  was  slowly 
emerging  out  of  a  state  of  great  darkness  and  super- 
stition, and,  on  the  other,  that  lofty  minds  and  noble 
hearts  were  toiling  for  their  civilization. 

For  many  centuries  a  most  bloody  contention  went 
on  between  the  ideal  monotheism  and  the  actual  idola- 
try; at  times  it  was  a  war  of  extermination.     This 

*Numb.  XXL  4-9;-      ^ 

tl  Kings  XVIII.  33,  26,  28;  XIX.  18;  Jerem.  XIX  5;  9 
Kings  I.  2;  Judges  VIII.  33,  IX.  4,  46;  Numb.  XXV.  1,  ct  seq. 

tl  Kings  XL  33;  Jerem.  VIL  18;  Judges  II.  13,  X.  6;  f 
Kings  XXIIL  7;  Levit.  XIX.  29;  Deut.  XXIIL  18;  Eiek.  VIIL 
14;  2  Kings  XXIIL  5,  XVII.  16,  XXL  3,  5;  DeuL  IV.  19, 
XVIL  3;  2  Kings  XXIIL  10;  Levit.  XVIII.  21,  XX.  2,  ct 
seq.;  Deut.  XVIIL  10;  Jerem.  VIL  31,  XIX.  5,  XXXII.  35. 
See  the  testimony  of  the  ancients  and  remarks  of  the  learned 
on  this  subject  in  De  Wette.- Archaologie,  etc.,  §  191,  et  seq. 
and  §  231,  et  seq.  Vatke  goes  too  far  in  his  explanations,  § 
21-27;  but  his  book  is  full  of  valuable  thoughts. 

§  There  is  a  remarkable  passage,  though  of  but  four  words, 
in  Rosea,  XIII.  2,  which  shows  that  one  of  the  worst  vices  of 
Fetichism  still  prevailed  in  his  time,  saying,  "They  that  sacri- 
fice a  man  shall  kiss  the  calves/*  i.  e.  the  Idols  of  the  People. 
This  is  not  the  common  translation  —  but  it  seems  to  mc  the 
true  one. 


90  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

shows  how  difficult  it  is  to  introduce  monotheism  be- 
fore the  people  are  ready  to  receive  it.  They  must 
wait  till  they  attain  the  requisite  moral  and  intellectual 
growth.  Before  this  is  reached,  they  can  receive  it  but 
in  name,  and  are  detained  from  the  ruder,  and  to  them 
more  congenial  form,  only  at  the  expense  of  most 
rigorous  laws,  suffering,  and  bloodshed.  Before  the 
exile  the  Hebrews  constantly  revolted ;  afterwards  they 
never  returned  to  the  ruder  worship,  but  ten  tribes  of 
the  nation  were  gone  forever.* 

In  the  more  recent  conflict  of  monotheism  and  poly- 
theism, the  history  of  the  Christian  and  Mahometan 
religions  shows  what  suffering  is  endured  first  by  the 
advocates  of  the  new,  and  next  by  those  of  the  old 
faith,  before  the  rude  doctrine  could  give  place  to  the 
better.  War  and  extermination  do  their  work,  and 
remove  the  unbelieving.  Many  a  country  has  been 
Christianized  or  Mahometanized  by  the  sword.  These 
things  have  taken  place  within  a  few  centuries;  when 
the  conquering  religion  was  called  Christianity.  Are 
the  wars  of  Charlemagne  forgotten?  Go  back  thou- 
sands of  years,  to  the  strife  between  sacerdotal  polythe- 
ism and  fetichism,  when  each  was  a  more  bloody  faith, 
and  imagination  cannot  paint  the  horrors  of  the  strug- 
gle. 

Now,  each  of  these  forms  represent  an  idea  of  the 
popular  consciousness  which  passed  for  a  truth,  or  it 
could  not  be  embraced;  for  a  great  truth,  or  it  would 
not  prevail  widely ;  yes,  for  all  of  truth,  the  man  could 
receive  at  the  time  he  embraced  it.     We  creep  before 

*  See  Newman's  Hebrew  Monarchy.  Lond.  1847,  ch.  IX. 
Ewald  ubi  sup.  B.  II.  p.  92,  et  seq.  Anhang  zum  2teii  Band. 
III.   (1)  p.  197,  et  seq. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT^  91 

walking.  Mankind  has  likewise  an  infancy,  though  it 
will  at  length  put  away  childish  things.  Each  of  these 
forms  did  the  world  service  in  its  day.  Its  truth  was 
permanent;  its  error,  the  result  of  the  imperfect  devel- 
opment of  man's  faculties.  It  happens  in  religious  as 
in  scientific  matters,  that  doctrine  contains  both  truth 
and  falsehood.  It  is  accepted  for  its  truth  or  the  ap- 
pearance of  truth.  At  first  the  falsehood  does  little 
harm,  for  it  comes  in  contact  with  no  active  faculty  in 
man  which  detects  it.*  But  gradually  the  truth  does 
its  work;  elevates  those  who  receive  it;  new  faculties 
awake;  the  falsehood  is  seen  to  be  false.  The  free 
man  would  gladly  reject  it.  But  the  priesthood,  whom 
interest  chains  to  the  old  form,  though  false;  or  the 
people,  not  yet  elevated  enough  to  see  the  truth, —  will 
not  allow  a  man  to  separate  the  false  from  the  true. 
They  say  to  the  prophet  and  the  sage,  "  Thou  shalt 
accept  the  old  doctrine  as  we  and  our  fathers.  It  is 
from  God ;  the  only  rule.  Unless  thou  accept  it  on  the 
same  authority,  and  in  the  same  way  as  ourselves,  we 
will  bum  thee  and  thy  children  with  fire.    Thou  mayst 

*We  often  see  the  most  strange  inconsistency  between  a 
man's  conduct  and  his  creed.  Roman  Lucretia  sacrificed  to 
Venus.  The  worshipper  of  Jupiter  did  not  imitate  his  \iccs; 
nor  does  the  modern  devotee  of  some  unholy  creed,  with  a 
Christian  name,  become  what  the  creed  logically  demands.  A 
man  may  hold  doctrines  which  render  virtue  nugatory;  which 
make  the  flesh  creep  with  horror;  and  yet  live  a  divine  life, 
or  be  gay  even  to  frivolity.  The  late  Dr.  Hopkins  was  a  strik- 
ing illustration  of  this  statement.  So  long  as  the  religious 
sentiment  preponderates,  the  false  doctrine  fails  of  its  legiti- 
mate effect.  See  some  judicious  observations  on  this  theme  in 
Constant,  Liv.  I.  Ch.  III.  IV.,  and  Polythdsme  Rom.  VoL  I. 
p.  59-81. 

M.  Comte,  Vol.  V.  p.  280,  thinks  the  doctrine  of  pure  Mono- 
theism is  perfectly  sterile  and  incapable  of  becoming  the  basis 
of  a  true  religious  system!  Judging  only  from  experience,  his 
conclusion  is  utterly  false.    But  such  as  might  be  expected  from 


9^  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

live  as  likest  thee;  thou  shalt  believe  with  us."  The 
free  man  replies,  "  Bum  then  if  thou  wilt :  but  truth 
thou  canst  not  burn  down.  A  lie  thou  canst  not  build 
up.  God  does  not  die  with  his  children,  nor  truth  with 
its  martyrs." 

Then  as  truth  is  stronger  than  every  lie,  and  he  that 
has  her  is  mightier  than  all  men,  so  the  fagot  of  mar- 
tyrdom proves  the  fire-pillar  of  the  human  race,  guid- 
ing them  from  the  bondage  and  darkness  of  Egypt  to 
the  land  of  liberty  and  light.  Truth,  armed  with  her 
arrows  to  smite,  her  olive  to  bless,  spreads  wide  her 
wings  amid  the  outcry  of  the  priest  and  the  king.  At 
last  error  goes  down  to  the  ground,  but  because  hon- 
ored beyond  her  time,  takes  with  her  temple  and  tower 
in  her  fall. 

The  truth  represented  by  fetichism  is  this:  The 
unknown  God  is  present  in  matter;  spiritual  power  is 
the  strongest  of  forces.  Its  error  was  to  make  matter 
God.  The  truth  of  polytheism  is :  God  is  present  and 
active,  everywhere;  in  space,  in  spirit;  breathes  in  the 
wind ;  speaks  in  the  storm ;  inspires  to  acts  of  virtue ; 

one  who  is,  as  he  boasts,  "equally  free  from  Fetischistic,  Poly- 
theistic, and  Monotheistic  prejudices.*'  He  looks  longingly  to 
a  time  when  all  theism  shall  have  passed  away,  and  the  "hy- 
pothesis of  a  God"  become  exploded!  But  the  true  man  of 
science  is  of  all  men  most  modest  and  reverent.  He  who  has 
followed  Newton  through  the  wondrous  soaring  of  his  genius 
comes  grateful  to  that  swan-song,  beautiful  as  it  is  sublime, 
with  which  he  finishes  his  flight,  and  sings  of  the  oke  cause, 
ETERKAL  and  INFINITE,  who  Tulcs  the  all.  It  cannot  be  read 
without  a  tear  of  joy.  Principia;  ed.  1833,  Vol.  IV.  p.  199,  201. 
"Et  hi  omnes/'  etc.  etc.  See  too  the  beautiful  and  pious  con- 
clusion of  Mr.  Whewell  to  his  Philosophy  of  the  Inductive 
Sciences,  Vol.  III.  p.  582-3.  And  the  remarks  of  Descartes, 
Meditations,  Med.  3,  ad  finem.  It  was  worthy  of  Linnaeus  to 
say,  as  he  looked  at  a  little  flower,  Deum  Sempiternum,  omnis- 
cium,  omni'pQWdtem,  d  tergq  transeuntem  vidi  et  obstupuu 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  93 

helps  the  efforts  of  all  true  men.  fts  falsehood  was, 
that  it  divided  God,  and  gave  but  a  chaos  of  deity. 
When  the  falsehood  was  seen  and  felt  to  be  such,  and 
its  truth  believed  in  for  itself,  on  its  own  authority, 
then  was  the  time  for  f etichism  and  polytheism  to  fall. 
So  they  fell,  never  to  hope  again,  for  mankind  never 
apostatizes.  One  generation  takes  up  the  Ark  of  re- 
ligion where  another  let  it  fall,  and  carries  forward  the 
hope  of  the  world.  The  old  form  never  passes  away, 
till  all  its  truth  is  transferred  to  the  new.  These  types 
of  religious  progress,  are  but  the  frames  on  which  the 
artist  spreads  the  canvas,  while  he  paints  his  piece. 
The  frame  may  perish  when  this  is  done.  Fetichism 
and  polytheism  did  good,  not  because  they  were  fetich- 
ism and  polytheism,  but  because  religion  was  in  them 
and  they  were  steps  in  the  spiritual  progress  of  man- 
kind—  indispensable  steps. 

Such,  then,  are  the  three  great  forms  of  manifesta- 
tion assumed  by  this  religious  element.  We  cannot  un- 
derstand the  mental  and  religious  state  of  men  who 
saw  the  divine  in  a  serpent,  a  cat,  or  an  enchanted 
ring;  not  even  that  of  superstitious  Christians,  who 
make  earth  a  demon-land,  and  the  one  God  but  a  king 
of  devils.  Yet  each  religious  doctrine  has  sometime 
stood  for  truth.  It  was  devised  to  help  pious  hearts, 
and  has  imperfectly  accomplished  its  purpose.  It 
could  not  have  been  but  as  it  was.  Looking  carelessly 
at  the  past,  the  history  of  man's  religious  conscious- 
ness appears  but  a  series  of  revolutions.  What  is  to- 
day built  up  with  prayers  and  tears,  is  to-morrow 
pulled  down  with  shouting  and  bloodshed,  giving  place 
to  a  new  fabric  equally  transient.  Prophets  were  mis- 
taken, and  saints  confounded.    Religious  history  is  the 


94  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

tale  of  confusion.  But  looking  deeper,  we  see  it  is  a 
series  of  developments,  all  tending  towards  one  great 
and  beautiful  end,  the  harmonious  perfection  of  man ; 
that  in  theology  as  in  other  science,  in  morals  as  in 
theology,  the  circle  of  his  vision  becomes  wider  con- 
tinually; his  opinions  more  true;  his  ideal  more  fair 
and  sublime.  Each  form  that  has  been,  bore  its  justi- 
fication in  itself ;  an  evil  that  "  God  winked  at,"  to  use 
the  bold  figure  of  a  great  man.  It  was  natural  and 
indispensable  in  its  time  and  place ;  a  part  of  the  scheme 
of  agencies  provided  from  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world.  Each  form  may  perish ;  but  its  truth  never 
dies.  Nations  pass  away.  A  handful  of  red  dust  alone 
marks  the  spot  where  a  metropolis  opened  its  hundred 
gates ;  but  religion  does  not  perish.  Cities  and  nations 
mark  the  steps  of  her  progress.  A  nation,  at  the  head 
of  the  civilized  world,  organizes  religion  as  well  as  it 
can ;  perpetuates  and  diffuses  its  truth,  and  thus 
preaches  the  advent  of  a  higher  faith,  and  prepares  its 
way.  Each  failure  is  a  prophecy  of  the  perfect.  But 
the  change  from  faith  to  faith  is  attended  with  per- 
secution on  the  one  side,  and  martyrdom  on  the  other. 
A  little  philosophy  turns  men  from  religion.  Much 
knowledge  restores  them  to  their  faith,  to  the  bosom 
of  piety.  The  great  men  of  the  world,  men  gifted 
with  the  deepest  insight,  and  living  the  most  royal  life, 
have  been  man's  pioneers  in  these  steps  of  progress. 
Moses,  Hermes,  Confucius,  Budha,  Zoroaster,  Anaxag- 
oras,  Socrates,  Plato,  have  lent  their  holy  hands  in 
man's  greatest  work.  Religion  filled  their  soul  with 
strength  and  light.  It  is  only  Httle  men,  that  make 
wide  the  mouth,  and  draw  out  the  tongue  at  pure  and 
genuine  piety  and  nobleness  of  heart.  Shall  we  not 
judge  the  world,  as  a  rose,  by  its  best  side.?     God,  of 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  95 

his  wisdom,  raises  up  men  of  religious  genius ;  heaven- 
sent prophets;  born  fully  armed  and  fitted  for  their 
fearful  work.  They  have  an  eye  to  see  through  the 
reverend  hulls  of  falsity;  to  detect  the  truth  a  long 
way  off.  They  send  their  eagle  gaze  far  down  into 
the  heart;  far  on  into  the  future,  thinking  for  ages 
not  yet  bom.  The  word  somes  from  God  with  blessed 
radiance  upon  their  mind.  They  must  speak  the  tid- 
ings from  on  high,  and  shed  its  beamy  light  on  men 
around,  till  the  heavy  lids  are  opened,  and  the  sleepy 
eye  beholds.  But  alas  for  him  who  moves  in  such 
work.  If  there  be  not  superhuman  might  to  sustain 
him ;  if  his  soul  be  not  naked  of  selfishness,  he  will  say 
often,  "  Alas  for  me !  Would  God  my  mother  had 
died  or  ever  I  was  born  to  bear  all  the  burdens  of  the 
world,  and  right  its  wrongs."  He  that  feareth  the 
Lord  —  when  was  not  he  a  prey.^^  He  must  take  his 
life  in  his  hand,  and  become  as  a  stranger  to  men. 
But  if  he  fall  and  perish,  it  is  his  gain.  Is  it  not  also 
the  world's?  It  is  the  burning  wood  that  warms  men. 
In  passing  judgment  on  these  different  religious 
states,  we  are  never  to  forget,  that  there  is  no  monopoly 
of  religious  emotion  by  any  nation  or  any  age.  He 
that  worships  truly,  by  whatever  form,  worships  the 
only  God ;  He  hears  the  prayer,  whether  called  Brahma, 
Jehovah,  Pan,  or  Lord;  or  called  by  no  name  at  all. 
Each  people  has  its  prophets  and  its  saints ;  and  many 
a  swarthy  Indian,  who  bowed  down  to  wood  and  stone ; 
many  a  grim-faced  Calmuck,  who  worshipped  the 
great  God  of  Storms;  many  a  Grecian  peasant,  who 
did  homage  to  Phoebus-Apollo  when  the  sun  rose  or 
went  down ;  yes,  many  a  savage,  his  hands  smeared  all 
over  with  human  sacrifice,  shall  come  from  the  East 
and  the  West,  and  sit  down  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 


%  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

with  Moses  and  Zoroaster,  with  Socrates  and  Jesus, 
—  while  men,  who  called  daily  on  the  only  living  God, 
who  paid  their  tribute  and  bowed  at  the  name  of 
Christ,  shall  be  cast  out,  because  they  did  no  more. 
Men  are  to  be  judged  by  what  is  given,  not  what  is 
withheld. 


CHAPTER  VI 

OF  CERTAIN  DOCTRINES  CONNECTED  WITH 
RELIGION.  I.  OF  THE  PRIMITIVE  STATE 
OF  MANKIND.  II.  OF  THE  IMMORTAL- 
ITY OF  THE  SOUL 

I.     Of  the  Primitwe  State  of  Mankind. 

Various  theories  have  been  connected  with  religion, 
respecting  the  origin  and  primitive  condition  of  the 
human  race.  Many  nations  have  claimed  to  be  the 
primitive  possessors  of  their  native  soil ;  Autochthones, 
who  sprang  miraculously  out  of  the  ground,  were  de- 
scended from  stones,  grasshoppers,  emmets  or  other 
created  things.  Others  call  themselves  children  of  the 
gods.*  Some  nations  trace  back  their  descent  to  a 
time  of  utter  barbarism,  whence  the  gods  recalled 
them;  others  start  from  a  golden  age,  as  the  primitive 
condition  of  men.t  The  latter  opinion  prevailed  with 
the  Hebrews,  from  whom  the  Christians  have  derived 

*  Diodorus  Siculus  says,  somewhere,  all  ancient  nations  claim 
to  be  the  most  ancient, 

t  See  the  heathen  view  of  this  in  Hesiod,  Opera  et  Dies. 
I^ucretius,  V.  923,  et  seq.  Virgil,  Georg.  I.  125,  et  seq.  Eel.  IV. 
Ovid,  Met.  I.  89,  et  seq.  Plato,  Polit,  p.  271,  et  seq.  See 
Heyne,  Opusc.  Vol.  III.  p.  24,  et  seq.  Hesiod's  Theog.  521-579. 
See  other  parallels  in  Bauer's  Mythologie  des  A.  T.  etc.  Vol.  I. 
p.  85,  et  seq.  See  also  the  curious  speculations  of  Eichhorn 
(Urgeschichte  ed.  Gabler.);  Biittmann  (Mythologus),  and  Hart- 
mann  (iiber  des  Pentateuch).  Compare  Rosenmiiller,  Alter- 
thumskunde.  Vol.  I.  Part  I.  p.  180,  et  seq.  and  the  striking 
passage  in  Kleuker's  Zendavesta,  Vol.  II.  p.  211,  227,  et  seq.; 
III.  p.  85.  See  Rhode's  remarks  upon  the  passages,  ubi  sup., 
p.  388,  et  seq.     See  Bauer,  Dicta  Classica,  §  52. 

ni-7  97 


98  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

it.  According  to  them,  the  primitive  state  was  one  of 
the  highest  f ehcity,  from  which  men  fell ;  the  primitive 
worship,  therefore,  must  have  been  the  normal  religion 
of  mankind.* 

This  question  then  presents  itself :  From  what  point 
did  the  human  race  set  out;  from  civilization  and  the 
true  worship  of  God,  or  from  cannibalism  and  the 
deification  of  nature.?  Has  the  human  race  fallen  or 
risen.'*  This  question  is  purely  historical,  and  to  be 
answered  by  historical  witnesses.  But  in  the  presence, 
and  still  more  in  the  absence,  of  such  witnesses,  the  a 
priori  doctrines  of  the  man's  philosophy  affect  his  de- 
cision. Reasoning  with  no  facts  is  easy,  as  all  motion 
in  vacuo.  The  analogy  of  the  geological  formation  of 
the  earth;  its  gradual  preparation,  so  to  say,  for  the 
reception  of  plants  and  animals,  the  ruder  first,  and 
then  the  more  complex  and  beautiful,  till  at  last  she 
opens  her  bosom  to  man, —  this,  in  connection  with 
many  similar  analogies,  would  tend  to  show  that  a 
similar  order  was  to  be  expected  in  the  affairs  of  men ; 
development  from  the  lower  to  the  higher  and  not  the 
reverse.!  In  strict  accordance  with  this  analogy,  some 
have  taught  that  man  was  created  in  the  lowest  stage 
of  savage  life;  his  religion  the  rudest  worship  of 
nature;  his  morality  that  of  the  cannibal;  that  all  of 
the  civilized  races  have  risen  from  this  point,  and  grad- 
ually passed  through  fetichism  and  polytheism,  before 
they  reached  refinement  and  true  religion ;  the  spiritual 

*See  the  opinions  of  Zoroaster  on  this  point  collected  by 
Bretschneider,  Darstellung  der  Dogmatik,  etc.,  der  Apoc. 
Schriften,  Vol.  I.  §  52,  p.  286,  et  seq. 

tSee  Vestiges  of  the  Natural  History  of  Creation;  Lond. 
1844,  1st  ed.  p.  277,  et  seq.  for  some  curious  remarks. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  99 

man  is  the  gradual  development  of  germs  latent  in  the 
natural  man.* 

Another  party,  consisting  more  of  poets  and  dog- 
matists than  of  philosophers,  teaches  the  opposite  doc- 
trine, that  a  single  human  pair  was  created  in  the  full 
majority  of  their  powers,  with  a  perfect  morality  and 
religion ;  that  they  fell  from  this  state,  and  while  some 
few  kept  alive  the  lamp  of  truth,  and  pased  it  on  from 
hand  to  hand,  that  the  mass  sunk  into  barbarity  and 
sin,  whence  they  are  slowly  emerging  aided,  of  course, 

*  See  Comte,  Vol.  V.  p.  S2,  et  al.  Here  arises  the  kindred 
question.  Have  all  the  hunqian  race  descended  from  a  single  pair, 
or  started  up  in  the  various  parts  of  the  earth  where  we  find 
them?  The  first  opinion  has  been  defended  by  the  Christian 
church,  in  general  with  more  obstinacy  than  argument.  Pritch- 
ard,  ubi  sup.,  derives  all  from  one  stock,  and  collects  many 
interesting  facts  relative  to  the  human  race  in  various  condi- 
tions. But  the  unity  of  the  race  is  not  to  be  made  out  genea- 
logically. It  is  essential  to  the  nature  of  mankinjl.  Augustine 
has  some  curious  speculations  on  this  head,  De  civitate  Dei. 
Xn.  21.  XIII.  19-23.  XIV.  10-12,  16-26.  Lactantius,  Institut. 
II.  11.  VII.  4.  See  the  opinions  of  Buddeus,  and  the  curious 
literature  he  cites.  Hist.  Ecclesiast.  V.  T.  Vol.  I.  p.  92,  et  seq. 
On  the  other  hand.  Palfrey's  Academical  Lectures,  Vol.  II. 
Lect.  XXI.-XXII.  Kant,  von  der  Racen  der  Menschen:  "Werke, 
Vol.  VI.  p.  313,  et  seq.  Begriff  einer  Menschenrace ;  lb.  p.  33, 
et  seq.  Muthmaaslicher  Anfang  der  Menschengeschichte ;  ib. 
Vol.  VII.  p.  363,  et  seq.  Even  Schleiermacher  departs  from 
the  common  view.  Christliche  Glaube,  §  60-61.  See,  likewise, 
the  ingenious  observations  of  Samuel  S.  Smith,  Inquiry  into 
the  causes  of  diff'erent  complexions,  etc.  of  the  human  race. 
To  make  out  the  case,  that  all  men  are  descended  from  a  primi- 
tive pair,  it  is  only  necessary  to  assume,  philosophically,  a  prin- 
ciple in  the  first  man,  whence  all  varieties  may  be  derived,  and 
then,  historically,  to  assume  the  derivation,  and  the  vicious  cir- 
cle is  complete.  Kames  has  some  disingenuous  remarks,  in  his 
History  of  Man.  Preliminary  Discourse.  See  M^moires  de 
I'Acad^mie  royale  des  Sciences  morales  et  politiques;  (Paris), 
1841,  Tom.  III.  p.  XXIII.  et  seq.  and  the  literature  referred  to. 


100  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

by  the  traditional  torch  of  truth,  still  kept  by  their 
more  fortunate  brothers.* 

Now  in  favor  of  this  latter  opinion  there  is  no  direct 
historical  testimony  except  the  legendary  and  mytho- 
logical writings  of  the  Hebrews,  which  have  no  more 
authority  in  the  premises  than  the  similar  narratives  of 
the  Phoenicians,  the  Persians,  and  Chinese.  If  we  as- 
sume the  miraculous  authority  of  these  legends,  the 
matter  ends  —  in  an  assumption.  The  indirect  testi- 
mony in  favor  of  this  doctrine  is  this:  The  opinion, 
found  in  many  nations,  that  there  had  once  been  a 
golden  age.  Now,  if  this  opinion  were  universal,  it 
would  not  prove  the  fact  alleged,  for  it  can  easily  be  ex- 
plained from  the  notorious  tendency  of  men,  in  a  low 
state  of  civilization  to  aggrandize  the  past;  the  senses 
delight  to  remember.  That  opinion  only  serves  to  il- 
lustrate this  tendency.    The  sensual  Greek  often  looked 

*  See  this,  which  is  the  prevalent  opinion,  set  forth  by  Knapp, 
ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  §  54-57.  Hahn,  Lehrbuch  des  Christ.  Glaub. 
§  74-75.  Tholuck,  in  Biblical  Repository,  Vol.  II.  p.  119,  et 
seq.     Hopkins's  System  of  Doctrines,  etc.  2d  edit.  Vol.  I.  Part 

I.  chap.  V.  VIII.  Bretschneider,  Dogmatik,  4th  edit.  VoL 

I.  §  112,  et  seq.,  gives  the  Lutheran  view  of  this  subject,  but 
thinks  Oken  no  heretic  for  maintaining  (in  the  Isis  for  1819, 
Vol.  II.  p.  1118),  that  man  may  have  arisen  from  an  embryo, 
with  human  qualities,  in  the  slime  of  the  seal  p.  812.  See 
Jeremy  Taylor,  Doctrine  and  Practice  of  Repentance,  chap.  VI., 
and  the  conflicting  remarks  in  the  sermon  at  the  funeral  of  Sir 
George  Dalston.  Jonathan  Edwards,  Original  Sin,  Part.  II. 
chap.  I.  and  Notes  on  Bible;  Works,  Lond.  1839,  Vol.  II.  p. 
689,  et  seq.  More  on  the  same  subject  may  be  seen  in  Faber's 
Horae  Mosaicae.  Edwards,  On  the  Truth  and  Authority  of  the 
Scriptures.  Collier's  Lectures  on  Scripture  Facts.  Gray's  con- 
nection between  Sacred  and  Profane  Literature.  Cormack's 
Inquiry.  Fletcher's  Appeal.  Deane's  Worship  of  the  Serpent, 
etc.  etc.  Senac,  Christianisme  dans  ses  Rapports  avec  la  Civili- 
zation mod^rne;  Paris,  1837,  Vol.  I.  pt.  I.  ch.  II.  See  the  opin- 
ions of  the  ancients  on  the  creation  and  primitive  state  of  man, 
collected  in  Grotius,  De  Veritate.  ed.  Clericus,  Lib.  I.  §  16, 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  101 

longingly  backward  to  the  golden  a^e;  but  the  more 
spiritual  prophet  of  the  Hettre^-wi^Lwk  forward  to  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven  yet  to  be.  But  the  opinion  pre- 
vails among  many  nationg^,  t|iat  th?/ hftVp" slbwjy^ad- 
vanced  from  a  ruder  state.* 

Again,  it  is  often  alleged,  that  no  nation  has  ever 
risen  out  of  the  savage  state  except  under  the  influ- 
ence of  tribes  previously  enlightened  —  an  historical 
thesis  which  has  never  been  proved.  No  one  knows 
whence  the  Chinese,  the  Mexicans,  the  Peruvians,  de- 
rived assistance.  We  have  yet  to  be  told  who  taught 
the  Greenlander  to  build  his  boat;  the  Otaheitan  to 
fashion  his  war  club;  the  Sacs  and  Pawnees  to  handle 
the  hatchet,  cook  the  flesh  of  the  buff^alo,  and  wear  his 
skin.  Besides  it  is  begging  the  question,  to  say  the 
civilization  of  Rome,  Athens,  Tyre,  Judea,  Egypt, 
Babylon,  Nineveh,  came  from  the  traditionary  knowl- 
edge of  some  primitive  people.  If  a  savage  nation  in 
seven  centuries  can  learn  to  use  oil  and  tallow  for 
light,  in  a  time  sufficiently  long  it  may  write  the  Iliad, 
and  build  the  Parthenon. 

Again,  it  is  said  that  traces  of  monotheism  are  found 
even  in  the  low  stages  of  our  religious  history.  This 
must  neccesarily  follow  from  the  identity  of  the  human 
race;  from  the  sentiment  and  idea  of  God,  expressing 
themselves  spontaneously.  If  man  is  the  same  in  all 
ages,  diff^ering  only  in  degree  of  development,  and  this 
element  is  natural  to  him,  then  we  must  expect  to  find 
such  expressions  of  it  in  the  poets  and  philosophers ;  in 
the  religion  of  India,  Greece,  and  Rome.     Men  of  the 

♦Strauss,  Die  Christ.  Glaubenslehre ;  1840-1,  Vol.  I.  §  45,  et 
seq.  decides  against  the  hypothesis  of  a  single  pair,  and  even 
ascribes  the  origin  of  man  to  the  power  of  equivocal  genera- 
tion. But  his  arguments  in  favor  of  the  latter  have  little  or 
no  weight.    See  Kames,  ubi  sup. 


102  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

same  spiritual  elevation. see  everywhere  the  same  spirit- 
ual trt^h./  If  Vthis  :,^cti"ine  of  monotheism  proceed 
from  tradition  alone,  ,the»' it  must  be  more  clear  and 
distfftct*-a%.' we.'ajJjJrjo^.ch".  th-e  source  of  the  tradition. 
But  this  is  notoriously  contrary  to  facts.* 

The  opposite  doctrine  has  no  more  of  direct  historical 
testimony  in  its  favor;  but  is  supported  by  many  in- 
direct testimonies:  by  the  fact,  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  human  race  are  still  in  the  condition  of  fetich- 
ism  and  polytheism  and  that  the  further  we  go  back 
in  history  the  worse  is  this  state,  and  the  ruder  their 
religion.  In  the  days  of  Herodotus,  the  proportion 
of  rude  and  savage  people  was  far  greater  than  at 
this  day.  Even  in  that  nation  alleged  to  be  most 
highly  favored,  we  find  their  social,  moral,  and  religious 
condition  is  more  rude  the  further  we  trace  it  back. 
They  and  other  nations,  at  the  time  we  first  meet  them 
in  history,  bordered  close  upon  the  fetichistic  state  to 
which  their  mythology  refers.  No  nation  has  ever 
been  found  in  a  normal  state  of  religious  culture. 

If  we  reason  only  from  established  facts,  we  must 
conclude,  that  the  hypothesis  of  a  golden  age,  a  gar- 
den of  Eden,  a  perfect  condition  of  man  on  the  earth 
in  ancient  times,  is  purely  gratuitous.  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  not  behind  but  before  us.  No  one  can 
determine,  by  historical  evidence,  what  was  the  primi- 
tive state  of  the  human  race,  or  when  or  where,  or 
how  mankind,  at  the  command  of  God,  came  into  ex- 
istence.    Here  our  conclusions  can  be  only  negative. f 

*  Voltaire,  Essai  sur  les  Moeurs,  etc.;  edit.  1785,  Vol.  I.  p. 
17,  et  seq.  29,  et  seq.  has  many  just  remarks  on  the  ruder  pe- 
riods of  society.  ^ 

t  Constant,  Li  v.  I.  ch.  VI.  and  X.  ch.  VI.  treats  this  subject 
with  a  superficiality  unsual  even  with  him.  He  thinks,  the  doc- 
trine of  a  fall  is  a  device  of  the  priesthood,  at  least,  that  it 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  103 

11.     On  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul, 

The  doctrine  that  man  lives  forever  seems  ahnost  as 
general  as  the  belief  in  a  God.  Like  that,  it  comes 
naturally  from  an  eternal  desire  in  the  human  heart ;  a 
longing  after  the  infinite.  In  the  rudest  nations  and  the 
most  civilized,  this  doctrine  appears.  Perhaps  there  has 
never  been  but  a  single  form  of  religion  among  the 
civilized  men  under  which  it  was  not  taught  plainly 
and  distinctly,  and  here  it  was  continually  implied. 
It  seems  we  have  by  nature  a  sentiment  of  immortality ; 
an  instinctive  belief  therein.  Rude  nations,  in  whom 
instinct  seems  to  predominate,  trust  the  spontaneous 
belief.  They  construct  an  ideal  world,  in  which  the 
shade  of  the  departed  pursues  his  calling  and  finds 
justice  at  the  last;  recompense  for  his  toil;  right  for 
his  earthly  wrongs.  The  conception  of  the  form  of 
future  life  depends  on  the  condition  and  character  of 
the  believer.  Hence  it  is  a  state  of  war  or  peace;  of 
sensual  or  spiritual  delight;  of  reform  or  progress, 
with  diff^erent  nations.  The  notion  formed  of  the  next 
world  is  the  index  of  man's  state  in  this.  Here  the 
idolater  and  the  pantheist,  the  Mahometan  and  the 
Christian,  express  their  conflicting  views  of  life.  The 
sentiment  and  idea  of  immortality  may  be  true,  but 
the  definite  conception  must  be  mainly  subjective  and 
therefore  false.  In  a  low  stage  of  civilization  the  doc- 
trine, like  the  religious  feelings  themselves,  seems  to 

owes  its  importance  and  continuation  to  the  sacerdotal  class. 
See  some  admirable  remarks  on  the  savage  state  in  de  Maistre, 
Soirees  de  St.  Petersburg,  Vol.  I.  See  also  Leroux's  criticism 
on  the  opinions  of  Jouffroy  and  Pascal  in  his  R6futation  de 
TEclecticism ;  1840,  p.  330,  et  seq.  Leroux  believes  in  the  prog- 
ress of  all  species,  man,  the  beaver,  and  the  bee.  M.  Maret,  ubi 
sup.  p.  30,  et  seq.  and  240,  et  seq.  makes  some  very  judicious 
observations. 


104  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

have  little  moral  influence  on  life.  It  presents  no 
motive  to  virtue,  and  therefore  does  not  receive  the 
same  place  in  their  system,  as  at  a  subsequent  period. 

In  rude  ages,  men  reason  but  little.  As  they  begin 
to  be  civilized  they  ask  proofs  of  immortality,  not 
satisfied  with  the  instinctive  feeling;  not  convinced 
that  infinite  Goodness  will  do  what  is  best  for  all  and 
each  of  his  creatures.  Hence  come  doubts  on  this 
head ;  inquiries ;  attempts  to  prove  the  doctrine ;  a 
denial  of  it.  There  seems  an  antithesis  between  in- 
stinct and  understanding.  The  reasoning  of  men  is 
then  against  it,  but  when  an  accident  drives  them  to 
somewhat  more  fundamental  than  processes  of  logic, 
the  instinctive  belief  does  its  work.  Here  then  are 
three  distinct  things :  a  belief  in  a  future  and  immortal 
state ;  a  definite  conception  of  that  state ;  and  a  proof 
of  the  fact  of  a  future  and  immortal  state.  The  two 
latter  may  be  fluctuating  and  inadequate,  while  the 
former  remains  secure. 

Now  it  may  be  considered  as  pretty  well  fixed,  that 
all  nations  of  the  earth,  above  the  mere  wild  man, 
believe  this  doctrine;  at  least,  the  exceptions  are  so 
rare,  that  they  only  confirm  the  rule.  However,  it  is 
often  difficult,  and  sometimes  impossible  to  determine 
the  popular  conception,  and  the  influence  of  this  belief 
at  a  particular  time  and  place.  But  the  subject  de- 
mands a  more  special  and  detailed  examination.  Let 
us  look  at  the  opinion  of  the  ancients. 

I.  Opinion  of  the  Hebrews  respecting  a  Future  State. 

It  has  sometimes  been  taught  that  this  doctrine 
was  perfectly  understood,  even  by  the  Patriarchs ;  and 
sometimes  declared  altogether  foreign  to  the  Old  Tes- 
tament.      Both   statements   are   incorrect.       In   some 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  105 

parts  of  the  Hebrew  scriptures  we  find  rude  notions 
of  a  future  state,  but  a  firm  belief  in  it;  in  others 
doubt,  and  even  denial  thereof.  In  the  early  books, 
at  least,  it  never  appears  as  a  motive.  It  has  no  sanc- 
tion in  the  law ;  no  symbol  in  the  Jewish  worship.  The 
soul  was  sometimes  placed  in  the  blood,  as  by  Em- 
pedocles;*  sometimes  in  the  breath;'[  the  heart,  or  the 
bowels  were  sometimes  considered  as  its  seat.$  The 
notion  of  immortality  was  indefinite  in  the  early  books ; 
there  are  cloudy  views  of  a  subterranean  world,  §  which 
gradually  acquire  more  distinctness.  The  state  of  the 
departed  is  a  gloomy,  joyless  consciousness;  the  ser- 
vant is  free  from  his  master;  the  king  has  a  shadowy 
grandeur.  1 1  The  dead  prophet  can  be  called  back  to 
admonish  the  living.  Enoch  and  Elijah,  like  Gany- 
mede with  the  Greeks,  being  favorites  of  the  deity,1F 

*Gen.  IX.  4;  Lev.  XVII.  11;  Deut.  XII.  23.  See  Cicero, 
Tusc.  Lib.  I.  Ch.  9,  10. 

tGen.  11.  7;  Ps.  CIV.  29,  et  al. 

t  Deut.  XXXII.  46;  Ps.  VII.  10;  Ps.  XVI.  7;  Prov.  XXIII.  16, 
et  al. 

§Gen.  XXV.  8,  XXXVII.  35;  Num.  XVI.  30,  33.  In  Job, 
Isaiah,  and  the  Psahns  this  becomes  more  definite.  Job  X.  21, 
XXXVIII.   17. 

1 1  Job  III.  13-19;  Isaiah  XIV.;  Ezek.  XXXII. ;  1  Sam. 
XXVIII.     See  Homer,  Od.  XI.  Virgil,  ^neid,  VI. 

I  See  also  Ps.  XVII.  15;  LXXIII.  24.  See  the  mistakes  of 
Michaelis  respecting  this  doctrine  of  immortality,  in  his  Ar- 
gumenta  immortalitate,  ...  ex  Mose  coUecta,  in  his  Syn- 
tagma Comment.  Vol.  I.  p.  80,  et  seq.  See  his  notes  on  Lowth, 
p.  465,  ed.  Rosenmiiller.  Warburton  founds  his  strange  hy- 
pothesis on  the  opposite  view.  See  on  this  point,  Bauer,  Dicta 
classica.  Vol.  II.  §  56,  et  seq.,  de  Wette,  ubi  sup.  §  113,  et  seq. 
Lessing,  Beytragen  aus  der  Wolfenbiittelschen  Bibliothek,  Vol. 
IV.  p.  484,  et  seq.  See  the  moderate  and  judicious  remarks  of 
Knapp,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  §  149.  See  Henkes  Mag.  fiir  Reli- 
gions Philosophie,  Vol.  V.  pt.  I.  p.  16,  et  seq.  and  a  treatise  in 
the  Studien  und  Kritiken  for  1830,  Vol.  II.  p.  884,  et  seq. 


106  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

are  taken  miraculously  to  him.     Other  passages  deny 
the  doctrine  of  immortality  with  great  plainness.* 

After  the  return  from  exile,  the  doctrine  appears 
more  definitely.  Ezekiel,  and  the  pseudo-Isaiah  -j-  al- 
lude to  a  resurrection  of  the  body,  a  notion  which  is 
perhaps  of  Zoroastrian  origin.:):  Perhaps  older  than 
Zoroaster.  But  it  is  only  doubtful  immortality  that  is 
taught  in  the  apocryphal  book  of  Ecclesiasticus, 
though  in  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  §  and  in  the  fourth 
book  of  Maccabees,  it  is  set  forth  with  great  clearness.  || 
The  second  book  of  Maccabees  teaches  in  the  plainest 
terms  the  resurrection  of  all;  the  righteous  to  happi- 
ness, the  wicked  to  shame. I    They  will  find  their  former 

*Eccles.  III.  19-21;  IX.  10.  In  Job  XIV.  10-14,  et  al.  Job 
dictinctly  denies  the  immortality  which  he  had  previously  af- 
firmed, but  this  shows  the  exquisite  art  of  the  poem.  See  dc 
Wette,  Introduction  to  O.  T.,  Vol.  II.  p.  556-557,  note  a.  Per- 
haps the  opinions  put  into  Job's  mouth  are  not  those  of  the 
author  but  such  only  as  he  thought  the  circumstances  of  his 
hero  required. 

t  Ezek.  XXXVII.;  Isa.  XXVI.  19.     See  Gesenius  in  loco. 

t  Rhode,  ubi  sup.  p.  494,  Nork,  Mythen  der  alten  Perser; 
1835,  p.  148,  et  seq.  Priestley,  ubi  sup.  §  XXIII.  Bretsch- 
neider,  ubi  sup.  §  58,  p.  325,  et  seq. 

§1.  15,  16;  II.  25  — III.  et  seq.;  V.  15;  VI.  18.  It  is  con- 
nected with  a  preexistent  state,  VIII.  19-20.  The  2d  Book  of 
Esdras  is  quite  remarkable  for  the  view  it  presents  of  this 
doctrine.  See  II.  23,  31,  34,  35;  IV.  40,  et  seq.;  VII.  13,  27-35, 
42,  et  seq.;  VIII.  1,  et  seq.  et  al.  But  the  character  and  date 
of  the  book  prevent  me  from  using  it  in  the  text. 

II  XV.  3;  XVI.  25;  XVII.  18,  et  al.  de  Wette,  ubi  sup.  §  180. 
See  the  remarkable  passage  in  4th  Esdras,  which  Fabricius  has 
added  from  the  Arabic  Version  Codex  pseudepigraphus ;  ed  alt. 
Hamb.  1741,  Vol.  II.  p.  235,  et  seq.  However,  it  may  have  been 
added  by  a  Christian.  In  the  Psalter  of  Solomon,  it  is  said 
they  that  fear  the  Lord  shall  rise  again  to  everlasting  life. 
See  Ch.  XIV.  2,  et  seq.,  and  XV.  in  Fabricius  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I. 
p.  926,  954,  et  seq.  I  do  not  pretend  to  determine  the  date  of 
this   apocryphal   book. 

^VII.  9,  11,  14,  23;  XII.  43,  et  seq.;  XV.  12  et  seq. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  107 

friends,  and  resume  their  old  pursuits.*     Nothing  is 
plainer. 

At  the  time  of  Jesus,  the  Pharisees  believed  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  body ;  a  state  of  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments, f  Some  of  them  connected  it  with  the  com- 
mon notion  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  ;:j:  perhaps 
with  that  of  preexistence.  The  Essenes,  still  more  phil- 
osophically, taught  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and 
the  certainty  of  retribution,  without  the  resurrection  of 
the  body.  The  soul  is  formed  of  the  most  subtle  air, 
and  is  confined  in  the  body  as  in  a  prison;  death  re- 
deems it  from  a  long  bondage,  and  the  living  soul 
mounts  upward  rejoicing. §  We  find  similar  views  in 
Philo.  1 1  Perhaps  they  were  common  in  reflecting  minds 
at  the  time  of  Jesus,  who  always  presupposes  a  belief 

*  See  in  Eichhorn,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  IV.  p.  653,  et  seq.,  a  valuable 
contribution  to  the  History  of  this  doctrine  by  Frisch.  He 
makes  an  ingenious  comparison  of  passages  from  the  Apocry- 
pha, and  the  New  Testament.  The  same  doctrine  is  taught  in 
both.  See  Flatt,  in  Paulus,  Memorabil.  st.  II.  p.  157  et  seq. 
Bretschneider,  ubi  sup.  §  53-58. 

tActs  XXIII.  6-8;  XXIV.  15;  Matth.  XXII.  24,  et  seq.; 
Mark  XII.  19,  et  seq. 

JJosephus,  Wars,  II.  8.  14.  Josephus  may  have  added  the 
Metempsychosis  to  suit  the  taste  of  his  readers. 

§  Josephus,  Wars,  II.  8,  11.  Josephus  himself  seems  to  agree 
with  this  opinion,  when  he  "talks  like  a  philosopher,"  in  his 
pretended  speech,  Wars,  III.  8,  5.  See  Buddeus,  ubi  sup.  II. 
p.  1202,  et  seq.,  Paulus  Memorabil.,  Vol.  II.  p.  157,  et  seq.  and 
de  Wette,  ubi  sup.  §  178,  et  seq. 

1 1  See  also  the  views  of  Philo,  De  Somniis ;  p.  586.  De  Abrah, 
p.  385.  De  Mundi  Opif.  p.  31.  The  soul  is  immortal  by  nature, 
not  by  grace.  See  Dahne,  Geschichtliche  Darstellung  der  Judi- 
schen, —  Alexand.  Philosophic,  etc.  1834,  Vol.  I.  p.  330,  et  seq., 
405,  485,  et  seq.,  who  cites  the  above  and  other  proof  passages. 
Ritter,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  IV.  See  Weizel  on  the  primitive  doctrine 
of  immortality  among  the  Christians,  in  Theol.  Stud,  und  Kriti- 
ken,  for  1836,  p.  957,  et  seq.  Constant,  Liv.  IX.  Ch.  VII.  makes 


108  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

in  immortality.  The  Sadducees  alone  opposed  it. 
Such  were  the  beginning  and  history  of  this  dogma 
with  the  Jews.  Its  progress  and  formation  are  ob- 
vious. 

II.  Of  this  Doctrine  among  the  Heathen  Nations, 

Among  savage  nations  this  belief  is  common.  It 
appears  in  prayers  and  offerings  for  the  dead;  in  the 
mode  of  burial.  The  savage  American  deposits  in  the 
tomb  the  bow  and  the  pipe,  the  dress  and  the  toma- 
h-.wk  of  the  deceased  warrior.  The  Scythian,  the 
Goth,  the  Indian,  and  the  half-barbarous  Greek, 
burned  or  buried  the  horse,  or  the  servant,  the  wife, 
or  the  captive  of  a  great  man  at  his  decease,  that  he 
might  go  down  royally  attended  to  the  realm  of  shades. 
Metempsychosis ;  the  deification  of  the  dead,  ceremo- 
nies in  their  honor,  gifts  left  on  their  tombs,  oaths 
confirmed  in  their  name,  are  all  signs  of  this  belief.* 
The  Egyptians,  the  Gauls,  and  Scandinavians  spoke 

some  just  remarks  on  this  subject.  On  the  state  of  opinions 
in  the  time  of  Christ,  see  Gfrorer,  Jahrhundert  des  Heils;  1838. 
Vol.  II.  Ch.  VII.  Triglandius  de  tribus  Judaeorum  sectis,  in 
quo  Serarii,  Drusii,  Scaligeri,  Opuscula,  etc.;  1703,  Vol.  I.  Part 
I.  Lib.  II.  and  III.  Part  II.  Lib.  II.-IV.  and  Scaliger's  Ani- 
madversions; and  the  very  valuable  treatise  of  Leclerc,  Prolego- 
mena ad  Hist.  Eccl.  Lib.  I.  Ch.  I.  See  Fliigge,  Geschichte  des 
Glaubens  an  Unsterblichkeit,  etc.  etc.;  Leip.  1794,  Vol.  I.  p. 
112-160,  201-251,  et  passim.  Bouchitt^  M^m.  de  I'lnstitut. 
Savans  ^trangeres  torn.  II.  p.  621,  et  seq. 

*  See  Lafitau,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  p.  387,  et  seq.,  410,  et  seq., 
420,  et  seq.,  444,  et  seq..  Vol.  I.  p.  359,  et  seq.,  507,  et  seq. 
Catlin,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  Bancroft's  Hist.  Vol.  III.  Ch.  XXII. 
Constant,  Livre  IX.  Ch.  VII.  VIII.  Livre  II.  Ch.  IV.  Martin, 
ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  p.  18,  6Q,  329;  Vol.  II.  p.  212,  et  seq.  United 
States  Exploring  Expedition;  Phil.  1845--6.  Vol.  VII.  p.  63,  et 
seq.,  99,  et  seq.  et  al.  For  the  fetichism  of  the  savages,  see 
p.  16,  et  seq.,  26,  et  seq.,  51,  et  seq.,  97,  et  seq.,  110,  et  seq. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  109 

of  death  as  the  object  of  hfe.*  Luciin  foolishly  thinks 
the  latter  are  brave  because  they  believe  in  endless  ex- 
istence. 

Each  savage  people  has  its  place  of  souls.  Death 
with  them  is  not  an  extinction,  but  a  change  of  life. 
The  tomb  is  a  sacred  place.  No  expense  is  too  great 
for  the  dead.  The  picture  of  heaven  is  earth  embel- 
lished. At  first,  the  next  world  is  not  a  domain  of 
moral  justice;  God  has  no  tribunal  of  judgment. 
But  with  the  advance  of  the  present,  the  conception 
of  a  future  state  rises  also.  The  Pawnees  have  but  one 
place  for  the  departed.  The  Scandinavians  have 
two,  Nifleheim  and  Nastrond;  the  Persians  seven;  the 
Hindoos  no  less  than  twenty-four,  for  different  degrees 
of  merit. f  With  many  savages,  the  good  and  evil 
become  angels  to  bless,  or  demons  to  curse  mankind.  J 

To  come  to  the  civilized  states  of  antiquity,  India, 
Egypt,  Persia,  we  find  the  doctrine  prevalent  in  the 
earliest  time,  even  in  the  ages  when  mythology  takes 
the  place  of  history.  In  India  and  Egypt  it  was  most 
often  connected  with  transmigration  to  other  bodies. 
Herodotus  says,  the  Egyptians  first  taught  the  doc- 

*  On  the  belief  of  the  Scandinavians,  the  Caledonians,  the 
Parsees,  Indians,  etc.,  see  Fliigge,  Vol.  II.  The  ancient  Lith- 
uanians had  some  singular  opinions  and  customs  in  relation  to 
the  dead,  for  which  see  Boemus,  Omnium  Gentium  Mores,  etc.; 
Friburg,  1540,  p.  182. 

t  Constant,  ibid.  Meiners,  ubi  sup.,  Vol.  I.  Book  III.  See 
Leroux,  De  I'Humanitd,  etc.  Vol.  II.  p.  468,  et  seq. 

%  Meiners,  p.  302,  et  seq.  Farmer,  On  the  Worship  of  Human 
Spirits,  passim.  I  have  mentioned  a  few  books  on  this  subject, 
which  have  furnished  the  facts  on  which  the  above  conclusions 
rest.  I  can  refer  to  books  of  travels,  voyages  in  general,  the 
Lettres  Edifiantes,  descriptions  of  foreign  countries,  which  fur- 
nish the  facts  in  abundance.  The  works  of  Meiners,  Constant, 
and  Lafitau  are  themselves  but  a  compilation  from  these 
sources. 


110  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

trine.*  But  who  knows?  Pausanias  is  nearer  the 
truth  when  he  refers  it  to  India,f  where  it  was  taught 
before  the  birth  of  philosophy  in  the  west.lj:  It  begins 
with  the  beginning  of  the  nations. 

In  Greece  we  find  it  in  a  rude  form  in  Homer ;  con- 
nected with  Metempsychosis  in  Orpheus,  Pythagoras, 
and  Pherecydes ;  assuming  a  new  form  in  Sophocles 
and  Pindar,  and  becoming  a  doctrine  fixed  and  settled 
with  Socrates,  Plato,  and  his  school  in  general.  §  In 
Homer  the  future  state  is  a  joyless  existence.  Achilles 
would  rather  be  king  of  earthly  men  for  a  day,  than  of 
spirits  forever.  Like  the  future  state  of  the  Jews,  it 
offers  no  motive,  and  presents  no  terror.  The  shades 
of  the  weary  came  together  from  all  lands  into  their 
dim  sojourn.  Enemies  forgot  their  strife;  but  friends 
were  joined. ||  The  present  life  is  obscurely  renewed 
in  the  next  world.  But  the  more  especial  friends  or 
foes  of  the  gods  are  raised  to  honor,  or  condemned  to 
shame.     The  transmigration  of  souls  is  perhaps   de- 

*Lib.  II.  Chap.  123.    See  Creutzer's  note,  in  Bahr's  edition. 

t  The  date  of  all  things  is  uncertain  in  the  East.  I  cannot 
pretend  to  chronological  accuracy,  but  see  Asiatic  Researches, 
Vol.  V.  p.  360;  VII.  310;  VIII.  448,  et  seq.  Priestley,  ubi 
sup.  §  XXIII.;  Ritter.  Vol.  I.  p.  1S2. 

t  Stanley's  History  of  Philosophy,  Part  XIII.  Sect.  II.  Chap. 
X.  Hyde,  ubi  sup. 

§Brouwer,  Vol.  II.  Ch.  XVIII.;  Wilkinson,  Vol.  II.  p.  440,  ct 
seq.  Homer  assigns  to  the  gods  a  beautiful  abode  not  shaken 
by  the  winds,  etc.  Od.  VI.  41,  et  seq.  See  the  imitation  of  the 
passage  in  Lucretius,  III.  18,  et  seq.  Struchtmeyer,  Theologia 
Mythica,  sive  de  Origine  Tartari  et  Elysyii,  Libri  V.;  Hag. 
Com.  1753.     1  Vol.  8vo.  Lib.  I. 

1 1  See  Iliad,  XXIII.  et  seq.  et  al.  Odyss.  XI.  and  XXIV. 
passim,  and  Heyne,  Excursus  on  Iliad,  XXIII.  71  and  104,  Vol. 
VIII.  p.  368,  et  seq.  Diod.  etc.  Vol.  I.  p.  86.  See  the  similar 
views  of  the  North  American  Indians,  in  Schoolcraft,  Algic 
Researches.  Wachsmuth,  Vol.  II.  Part  II.  p.  106,  244,  290, 
Potter,  Antiquities.     Gorres,  Mythengeschichte,  passim. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  111 

rived  from  the  wondrous  mutation  in  the  vegetable  and 
animal  world,  where  an  acorn  unswathed  becomes  an 
oak,  and  an  egg  discloses  an  eagle.* 

In  Hesiod,  the  condition  of  the  dead  is  improved 
with  the  advance  of  the  nation.  The  good  have  a 
place  in  the  Isles  of  the  Blest. f  In  the  later  poets, 
the  doctrine  rises  still  higher,  while  the  form  is  not 
always  definite.  J  Pindar  celebrates  the  condition  of 
the  good  in  the  next  life.  It  is  a  state  where  the 
righteous  are  rewarded  and  the  wicked  punished  until 
sin  is  consumed  from  their  nature,  when  they  come  to 
the  divine  abode.  § 

To  pass  from  the  poets  to  the  philosophers ;  the 
immortality  of  the  soul  was  taught  continually,  from 
Pherecydes  to  Plotinus.  There  were  those  who 
doubted,  and  some  that  denied ;  yet  it  was  defended  by 

*  See  Xenophon,  Memorab.  ed.  Schneider;  Lips.  1829,  Lib.  I. 
Chap.  III.  §  7,  and  the  Note  of  Bornemann. 

t  Opera  et  dies,  vs.  160,  et  seq.,  and  the  Scholia  in  Poet.  Min. 
cd.  Gaisford:  Lips.  1823,  Vol.  II.  p.  142,  et  seq. 

t  See  the  Gnomic  poets  in  general,  for  the  moral  views  of 
life;  for  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  Simonides,  Frag.  XXX. 
(XXXIII.)  Tyrtaeus  III.  in  Gaisford,  Vol.  III.  p.  160,  242. 
See  the  curious  passage  in  Aristophanes,  Ranae,  vs.  449-460. 
Opp.  ed.  Bekker;  Lond.  1829,  Vol.  I.  p.  535;  in  which  see  B's 
note.  See  Orpheus,  as  cited  by  Lobeck,  Aglaoph,  p.  950.  Cud- 
worth,  Chap.  I.  §  21,  22;  and  Moshiem  in  loc.  See  the  indiffer- 
ent book  of  Priestley,  Heathen  Philosophy,  Part  I.  §  III.  V.; 
Part  II.  §  III.  v.;  also  p.  125,  et  seq.,  197,  et  seq.,  265,  et  seq. 

§01ymp.  II.  vs.  104,  et  seq.  (57-92,  in  Dissen.)  See  Cow- 
ley's wild  imitation  in  his  Pindarique  Odes;  Lond.  1720,  Vol. 
II.  p.  160,  et  seq.  See  similar  thoughts  in  Propertius,  Lib.  III. 
39,  et  seq.;  and  Tibullus,  Eleg.  III.  58,  Virgil,  ^neid,  VI.  See 
also  Pindar's  Fragment,  II.  Vol.  III.  p.  34,  ed.  Heyne;  Lips. 
1817.  Frag.  I.  p.  31,  et  seq.  Frag.  III.  p.  36;  and  the  notes 
of  Dissen,  in  his  edition  of  Pindar,  Vol.  II.  p.  648,  et  seq.; 
and  Lobeck,  ubi  sup.  See,  who  will,  a  treatise  in  the  Acta 
Eruditorum  for  August,  1722,  de  Statu  Animae  separatae  post 
mortem,  etc. 


11^  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

all  the  greatest  philosophers,  Thales,  Pythagoras, 
Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Cicero,  Plutarch,  Epicte- 
tus,*  and  by  the  most  influential  schools.  No  doubt 
it  was  often  connected  with  absurd  notions,  in  jest  or 
earnest.  But  when  or  where  has  its  fate  been  differ- 
ent? Bishop  Warburton  thinks  it  no  part  of  natural 
religion;  Dodwell  thinks  immortality  is  only  coexten- 
sive with  Christian  baptism,  and  is  superinduced  upon 

*  Cicero,  Tusc.  Lib.  I.  Chap.  XVI.,  says  Pherecydes  was  the 
first  who  taught  this  doctrine.  See  the  note  in  Lemaire's  edi- 
tion. See  also  Diogenes  Laert.  Thales,  Lib.  I.  §  43,  p.  27,  et 
seq.,  and  Plutarch,  De  Placitis  Phil.  Lib.  IV.  Ch.  II.-VII.  Opp. 
Vol.  II.  p.  898,  et  seq.  It  has  been  thought  doubtful  that 
Aristotle  believed  in  immortality,  and  perhaps  it  is  not  easy  to 
prove  this  point.  See  De  Anima,  III.  5;  but  compare  Ethic. 
Nicom.  Lib.  III.  Chap.  VI.  which  denies  it.  See  again  De 
Anima,  II.  2.  De  Gen.  Anim.  III.  4.  Plato  teaches  immortality 
with  the  greatest  clearness.  See  the  Phaedo,  passim.  Gorgias, 
p.  524,  et  seq.,  et  al.  Apolog.  Laws  (if  they  are  genuine).  Lib. 
X.  XII.  Epinomis,  Timaeus,  Rep.  X.  p.  612,  et  seq.  Plato 
makes  the  essence  of  man  spiritual:  Tim.  p.  69,  C.  et  seq.  72, 
D.  et  seq.  Rep.  IV.  p.  431  A.  He  was  opposed  to  the  Mate- 
rialists, Soph.  p.  246.  A.  However,  he  did  not  condemn  the 
body.  His  argument  in  favor  of  immortality,  like  many  later 
arguments  on  the  same  theme,  creates  more  questions  than  it 
answers.  The  form  of  the  doctrine,  its  connection  with  'preexist- 
ence  and  transmigration,  like  many  doctrines  still  popularly 
connected  with  it,  serve  only  to  disfigure  the  doctrine  itself,  and 
bring  it  into  reproach.  The  opinion  of  Cicero  is  so  well  known, 
that  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  cite  passages;  but  see  Frag,  de 
Consolat.  12,  et  seq.  27,  et  al.  De  Senectute,  Chap.  XXI.,  et 
seq.  Tusc.  I.  C.  16.  De  Amicit.  Ch.  3,  4.  Somnium  Scipionis, 
et  al.  See  Seneca,  De  Ira,  I.  3.  Consolatio  ad  Helv.  Chap.  VI. 
De  Vita  beata.  Chap.  XXXII.  Ep.  50,  102,  117.  Sometimes  he 
speaks  decidedly,  at  other  times  with  doubt.  See  Lipsius  Phy- 
siol. Stoic.  Lib.  III.  Diss.  VIII.-XIX.  See  Locke,  Essay,  Book 
IV.  Chap.  III.  and  Letters  to  Bishop  of  Worcester. 

See  Plutarch,  De  Sera  Numinis  Vindicta,  Morals;  Lond. 
1691,  Vol.  IV.  p.  197,  et  seq.  See  too  the  Story  of  Soleus  the 
Thespesian,  ibid.  p.  206,  et  seq.  Plut.  Vit.  Quint.  Sertorius. 
Opp.  I.  571-2,  F.  &  B.  for  an  account  of  the  Fortunate  Islands, 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  113 

the  mortal  soul  by  that  dispensation  of  water.*  Could 
a  heathen  be  more  absurd?  If  the  popular  doctrine 
of  the  Christian  church,  which  dooms  the  mass  of  men 
to  endless  misery,  be  true,  then  were  immortality  a  mis- 
fortune to  the  race.  The  wisest  of  the  heathen  taught 
such  a  dogma  as  little  as  did  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  We 
must  always  separate  the  doctrine  from  its  proof  and 
its  form;  the  latter  is  often  imperfect  while  the  doc- 
trine in  true. 

Since  the  time  of  Bishop  Warburton,  it  has  been 
common  to  deny  that  the  heathen  were  acquainted 
with  this  doctrine.f     "  It  was  one  guess  among  many," 

with  which  Comp.  Diod.  Sic.  Hist.  II.  Vol.  I.  p.  137,  et  seq. 
It  seems  the  Priests  of  Serapis  distinctly  taught  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  Augustine  says,  "Many  of  the  philosophers  of  the 
Gentiles  have  written  much  concerning  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  and  in  numerous  books  have  they  left  it  on  record  that 
the  soul  is  immortal.  But  when  you  come  to  the  resurrection 
of  the  flesh,  they  do  not  hesitate  but  openly  deny  that,  contra- 
dicting it  to  such  a  degree  that  they  declare  it  impossible  for 
this  terrene  flesh  to  rise  to  heaven/*  Expos.  Psalms,  LXXXVIII. 
Justin  M.  says  the  doctrine  of  immortality  was  no  new  thing 
in  Christ's  time  —  but  was  taught  by  Plato  and  Pythagoras. 
The  new  element  Christ  added  to  the  doctrine  he  thinks  was 
the  resurrection  of  the  flesh.  Opp.  ed.  Otto.  II.  p.  540.  See 
the  literature  collected  on  this  subject  by  Kortholt  in  his  An- 
notations on  Athenagoras,  Legat.  etc.  etc.;  ed.  Oxon.  1704,  p. 
94,  et  seq. 

*  Epistolary  Discourse,  etc.  London,  1706.  He  thinks  that 
regular  bishops  have  the  power  of  making  men  immortal 
through  the  "  divine  baptismal  spirit/'  See  for  the  history  of 
opinions  among  the  Christians,  Fliigge,  Vol.  III.  pt.  1  and  2. 

t  Warburton  has  the  merit  of  framing  an  hypothesis  so  com- 
pletely original  that  no  one,  perhaps  (except  Bishop  Hurd), 
has  ever  shared  it  in  full  with  him.  Part  of  his  singular 
theory  is  this:  A  belief  in  a  future  state  was  found  necessary 
in  heathen  countries,  to  keep  the  subjects  in  order;  the  philoso- 
phers and  priests  got  up  a  doctrine  for  that  purpose,  teaching 
that  the  soul  was  immortal,  but  not  believing  a  word  of  it. 
Moses,  who  believed  the  doctrine,  yet  never  taught  it,  controlled 
the  people  by  means  of  his  inspiration,  and  the  perfect  law, 
.       Ill— 8 


114  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

has  often  been  said.  But  a  man  even  slightly  ac- 
quainted with  ancient  thought  and  life,  knows  it  is  not 
so.  God  has  not  made  truth  so  hard  to  come  at,  that 
the  world  of  men  continued  so  many  thousand  years  in 
ignorance  of  a  future  life.  Before  the  time  above 
named,  it  was  taught  by  scholars,  even  scholars  of  the 
clerical  order,  that  the  doctrine  was  well  known  to  the 
heathen.  Cudworth  and  More,  Wilkins,  Taylor,  and 
Wollaston,  to  mention  only  the  most  obvious  names, 
bear  testimony  to  the  fact.* 

To  sum  up  in  a  few  words  the  history  of  this  doc- 
trine, both  among  Jews  and  Gentiles:  it  seems  that 
rude  nations,  like  the  Celts  and  the  Sarmatians,  clung 
instinctively  to  the  sentiment  of  immortality ;  that  the 
doctrine  was  well  known  to  the  philosophers,  and  com- 
monly accepted;  that  some  doubted,  and  some  denied 
it  altogether.  A  few  had  reached  an  eminence  in  phi- 
losophy, and  could  in  their  way  demonstrate  the  prop- 
osition, and  satisfy  their  logical  doubt,  thus  reconcil- 
ing the  instinctive  and  reflective  faculty.  From  the 
first  book  of  Moses  to  the  last  of  Maccabees;  from 
Homer  to  Cicero,  there  is  a  great  change  in  the  form 
of  the  doctrine.     All  other  forms  also  had  changed. 

*  See  Cudworth  and  More,  passim.  Wilkins,  Principles  and 
Duties  of  Natural  Religion,  etc.  Book  I.  Ch.  XI.;  see  also  Ch. 
IV.  and  VIII.  Taylor's  sermon,  preached  at  the  funeral  of 
that  worthy  Knight,  Sir  George  Dalston,  etc.  Wollaston,  Re- 
ligion of  Nature,  Sect.  IX.  It  would  be  easy  to  cite  passages 
from  the  early  Christians,  testifying  to  the  truth  possessed  by 
the  heathens  B.  C.  I  will  mention  but  one  from  Minucius  Felix. 
"A  man  might  judge  either  that  the  present  Christians  are 
philosophers,  or  else  that  the  old  philosophers  were  Christians." 
See  likewise  Brougham's  Discourse  on  Natural  Theology.  Note 
VI.-IX.  in  Appendix.  Polybius,  ubi  sup.  Lib.  VI.  c.  53-56, 
seems  to  think  the  legislators  got  up  the  doctrine,  with  no  faith 
in  it,  except  a  general  belief  it  would  make  men  submissive. 
See  Timaeus,  De  Anima  Mundi,  in  Gale,  ubi  sup. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  115 

But  how  far  was  the  doctrine  diffused  among  the 
people?  We  can  tell  but  faintly  from  history.  But 
what  nature  demands  and  providence  affords,  lingers 
longest  in  the  bosom  of  the  mass  of  men.  The  doc- 
trine was  not  strange  to  the  fishermen  of  Galilee. 
Was  it  more  so  to  the  peasants  of  Greece?  *  The 
early  apologists  of  Christianity  found  no  difficulty 
from  the  unity  of  God,  and  the  immortality  of  the 
soul;  both  are  presupposed  by  Jesus  and  Paul.  How 
far  it  moved  men  in  common  life  can  be  told  neither 
from  the  courtiers  of  pagan  Caesar  Augustus,  nor  from 
those  of  Christian  Louis  the  Well-beloved.  A  Roman, 
and  a  Christian  pontiff  —  how  much  are  they  moved 
by  the  tardy  terrors  of  future  judgment?  f  Juvenal 
could  repeat  his  biting  sneer  in  more  ages  than  one.J 
Was  the  argument  of  the  pagan  philosopher  unsatis- 
factory? It  was  never  otherwise.  Mr.  Strauss  de- 
clares it  has  not  yet  been  demonstrated;  Mr.  Locke 
that  it  cannot  be  proved.  The  spontaneous  sentiment 
does  its  work  with  few  words.  Who  shall  demonstrate 
for  us  a  fact  of  consciousness,  or  prove  our  personal 
identity?  But  the  doctrine  was  connected  with  gross 
errors, — ^  preexistence  and  metempsychosis.  Has  the 
doctrine  ever  been  free  of  such  connection?  in  even  a 
single  historical  case?  It  does  not  appear.  The 
doctrine  of   inherited   sin,   of   depravity  bom  in  the 

*  The  resurrection  of  the  body,  seems  to  have  been  the  doc- 
trine that  offended  Paul's  hearers  at  Athens;  that  of  immortal- 
ity alone  was  well  known  to  the  Stoics,  some  of  whom  believed 
it,  and  the  Epicureans,  who  rejected  it.  Acts  XVII.  16,  et 
seq.     See  Wetstein  in  loc. 

tSee  Horace,  Epist.  Lib.  I.  Ep.  XVI.  Juvenal,  Satir  XIII. 
Persius,  Satir.  II.  How  far  do  these  express  the  popular  senti- 
ment? 

%  Satir.  II.  149,  et  seq. 


116  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

bones  of  men;  the  notion  that  the  mass  of  men  are 
doomed  by  the  God  of  Mercy  to  eternal  woe  —  immor- 
tal only  to  be  wretched  —  is  not  a  strange  thing,  in  the 
nineteenth  century.  Modern  savages  have  foul  no- 
tions of  God;  ancient  civilization  has  sins  enough  on 
its  head,  hideous  sins  unknown  even  in  our  day,  for 
the  world  has  been  worse, —  but  both  are  free  from 
such  a  stain.* 

*  Leclerc,  ubi  sup.  gives  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  state  of  the 
world  at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  period,  perhaps  the 
most  faithful  that  has  been  given,  of  manners  and  opinions. 
The  popular  mythology  was  in  about  the  same  estimation  among 
cultivated  men,  as  the  popular  theology  at  the  present  time 
with  men  of  piety  and  good  sense.  Leroux  de  I'Humanite,  Vol. 
I.  p.  302,  et  seq.,  makes  some  observations,  on  this  doctrine 
among  the  ancients,  not  without  interest.  See  a  Sermon  of  Im- 
mortal Life,  by  Theo.  Parker,  Bost.  1846. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  INFLUENCE  OP  THE  RELIGIOUS  ELE- 
MENT ON  LIFE 

Man  is  not  a  being  of  isolated  faculties  which  act 
independently.  The  religious,  like  each  other  element 
in  us,  acts  jointly  with  other  powers.  Its  action  there- 
fore is  helped  or  hindered  by  them.  The  idea  of 
religion  is  only  realized  by  an  harmonious  action  of 
all  the  faculties,  the  intellectual,  the  moral.  Yet  the 
religious  faculty  must  act,  more  or  less,  though  the 
understanding  be  not  cultivated,  and  the  moral  ele- 
ments sleep  in  Egyptian  night ;  in  connection  therefore 
with  wisdom,  or  folly,  with  hope  or  fear,  with  love 
or  hate.  Now  in  all  periods  of  human  history  reli- 
gion demands  something  of  her  votaries.  The  ruder 
their  condition,  the  more  capricious  and  unreasonable 
is  the  demand.  Though  the  religious  instinct  itself  be 
ever  the  same,  the  form  of  its  expression  varies  with 
man's  intellectual  and  moral  state.  Its  influence  on 
life  may  be  considered  under  its  three  different  mani- 
festations. 

I.  Of  Superstition,  ' 

Combining  with  ignorance  and  fear,  the  religious 
element  leads  to  superstition.  This  is  the  vilification 
and  debasement  of  men.  It  may  be  defined  as  Fear 
BEFORE  God.  Plutarch,  though  himself  religious, 
pronounced  it  worse  than  atheism.  But  the  latter  can- 
not exist  to  the  same  extent ;  is  never  an  active  princi- 
ple. Superstition  is  a  morbid  state  of  human  nature, 
where  the  conditions  of  religious  development  are  not 

IIT 


118  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

fulfilled;  where  the  functions  of  the  religious  faculty 
are  impeded  and  counteracted.  But  it  must  act,  as 
the  heart  beats  in  the  frenzy  of  a  fever.  It  has  been 
said  with  truth,  "  Perfect  love  casts  out  fear."  The 
converse  is  quite  as  true.  Perfect  fear  casts  out  love. 
The  superstitious  man  begins  by  fearing  God,  not  lov- 
ing him.  He  goes  on,  like  a  timid  boy  in  the  dark- 
ness, by  projecting  his  own  conceptions  out  of  him- 
self; conjuring  up  a  phantom  he  calls  his  God;  a 
deity  capricious,  cruel,  revengeful,  lying  in  wait  for 
the  unwary ;  a  God  ugly,  morose,  and  only  to  be  feared. 
He  ends  by  paying  a  service  meet  for  such  a  God,  the 
service  of  horror  and  fear.  Each  man's  conception  of 
God  is  his  conception  of  a  man  carried  out  to  infinity ; 
the  pure  idea  is  eclipsed  by  a  human  personality.  This 
conception  therefore  varies  as  the  men  who  form  it 
vary.  It  is  the  index  of  their  soul.  The  supersti- 
tious man  projects  out  of  himself  a  creation  begotten 
of  his  folly  and  his  fear;  calls  the  furious  phantom 
God,  Moloch,  Jehovah;  then  attempts  to  please  the 
capricious  being  he  has  conjured  up.  To  do  this,  the 
demands  his  superstition  makes  are  not  to  keep  the 
laws  which  the  one  God  wrote  on  the  walls  of  man's 
being;  but  to  do  arbitrary  acts  which  this  fancied  God 
demands.  He  must  give  up  to  the  deity  what  is  dear- 
est to  himself.  Hence  the  savage  offers  a  sacrifice  of 
favorite  articles  of  food;  the  first-fruits  of  the  chase, 
or  agriculture;  weapons  of  war  which  have  done  sig- 
nal service;  the  nobler  animals;  the  skins  of  rare 
beasts.  He  conceives  the  anger  of  his  god  may  be 
soothed  like  a  man's  excited  passion  by  libations,  in- 
cense, the  smoke  of  plants,  the  steam  of  a  sacrifice. 

Again,   the    superstitious   man   would    appease   his 
God,  by  unnatural  personal  service.     He  undertakes 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  119 

an  enterprise,  almost  impossible,  and  succeeds,  for  the 
fire  of  his  purpose  subdues  and  softens  the  rock  that 
opposes   him,.     He    submits    to   painful   privation    of 
food,  rest,  clothing;  leads  a  life  of  solitude;  wears  a 
comfortless  dress,  that  girds  and  frets  the  very  flesh; 
stands  in  a  painful  position;  shuts  himself  in  a  dun- 
geon ;  lives  in  a  cave ;  stands  on  a  pillar's  top ;  goes 
unshorn  and  filthy.     He  exposes  himself  to  be  scorched 
by  the  sun,  and  frozen  by  the  frost.     He  lacerates 
his  flesh;  punctures  his  skin  to  receive  sacred  figures 
of  the  gods.     He  mutilates  his  body,  cutting  off  the 
most  useful  members.     He  sacrifices  his  cattle,  his  ene- 
mies, his  children  ;  defiles  the  sacred  temple  of  his  body ; 
destroys  his  moral  life  to  serve  his  God.     In  a  state 
more  refined,  superstition  demands  abstinence  from  all 
the  sensual  goods  of  life.     Its  present  pleasures  are  a 
godless  thing.     The  flesh  is  damned.     To  serve  God 
is  to  mortify  the  appetites  God  gave.     Then  the  su- 
perstitious man  abstains  from  comfortable  food,  cloth- 
ing, and  shelter;  comes  neither  eating  nor  drinking; 
watches  all  night  absorbed  in  holy  vigils.     The  man 
of  God  must  be  thin  and  spare.     Bernard  has  but  to 
show  his  neck,  fleshless  and  scraggy,  to  be  confessed 
a    mighty    saint.     Above   all,   he   must    abstain   from 
marriage.     The    devil    lurks    under   the    bridal    rose. 
The  vow  of  the  celibate  can  send  him  howling  back 
to  hell.     The  smothered  volcano  is  grateful  to  God. 
Then  comes  the  assumption  of  arbitrary  vows ;  the  per- 
formance of  pilgrimages  to  distant  places,  thinly  clad 
and  barefoot;  the  repetition  of  prayers,  not  as  a  de- 
light, spontaneously  poured  out,  but  as  a  penance,  or 
work   of   supererogation.     In   this   state,    superstition 
builds   convents,    monasteries,    sends    Anthony   to   his 
dwelling  in  the  desert ;  it  founds  orders  of  Mendicants, 


120  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Rechabites,  Nazarites,  Encratites,  Pilgrims,  Flagel- 
lants and  similar  moss-troopers  of  religion  whom 
heaven  yet  turns  to  good  account.  This  is  the  super- 
stition of  the  flesh.  It  promises  the  favor  of  its  god 
on  condition  of  these  most  useless  and  arbitrary  acts. 
It  dwells  on  the  absurdest  of  externals. 

However,  in  a  later  day,  it  goes  to  still  more  subtle 
refinements.  The  man  does  not  mutilate  his  body,  nor 
give  up  the  most  sacred  of  his  material  possessions. 
That  was  the  superstition  of  savage  life.  But  he  mu- 
tilates his  soul ;  gives  up  the  most  sacred  of  his  spirit- 
ual treasures.  This  is  the  superstition  of  refined  life. 
Here  the  man  is  ready  to  forego  reason,  conscience, 
and  love,  God's  most  precious  gifts;  the  noblest  attri- 
butes of  man;  the  tie  that  softly  joins  him  to  the  eter- 
nal world.  He  will  think  against  reason ;  decide 
against  conscience;  act  against  love,  because  he 
dreams  the  god  of  reason,  conscience,  and  love  de- 
mands it.  It  is  a  slight  thing  to  hack  and  mutilate 
the  body,  though  it  be  the  fairest  temple  God  ever 
made,  and  to  mar  its  completeness  a  sin.  But  to  dis- 
member the  soul,  the  very  image  of  God;  to  lop  off 
most  sacred  affections ;  to  call  reason  a  liar,  conscience 
a  devil's-oracle,  and  cast  love  clean  out  from  the  heart, 
this  is  the  last  triumph  of  superstition ;  but  one  often 
witnessed,  in  all  three  forms  of  religion  —  f etichism, 
polytheism,  monotheism;  in  all  ages  before  Christ;  in 
all  ages  after  Christ.  This  is  the  superstition  of  the 
soul.  The  one  might  be  the  superstition  of  the  hero; 
this  is  the  superstition  of  the  Pharisee. 

A  man  rude  in  spirit  must  have  a  rude  conception  of 
God.  He  thinks  the  deity  like  himself.  If  a  buffalo 
had  a  religion,  his  conception  of  deity  would  probably 
be  a  buffalo,  fairer  limbed,  stronger,  and  swifter  than 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  121 

himself,   grazing   in   the   fairest  meadows   of  heaven. 
If  he  were  superstitious,  his  service  would  consist  in 
offerings  of  grass,  of  water,  of  salt;  perhaps  in  ab- 
stinence from  the  pleasures,  comforts,  necessities  of  a 
bison's  life.     His  devil  also  would  be  a  buffalo,  but 
of  another  color,  lean,  vicious,  and  ugly.     Now  when  a 
man  has  these  rude  conceptions,  inseparable  from  a 
rude  state,  offerings  and  sacrifices  are  natural.     When 
they  come  spontaneous,  as  the  expression  of  a  grateful 
or  a  penitent  heart ;  the  seal  of  a  resolution ;  the  sign 
of  faith,  hope,  and  love,  as  an  outward  symbol  which 
strengthens   the  in-dwelling   sentiment  —  the   sacrifice 
is  pleasant  and  may  be  beautiful.     The  child  who  saw 
God  in  the  swelling  and  rounded  clouds  of  a  June  day, 
and  left  on  a  rock  the  ribbon-grass  and  garden  roses 
as  mute  symbols  of  gratitude  to  the  great  spirit  who 
poured  out  the  voluptuous  weather;  the  ancient  pagan 
who  bowed  prone  to  the  dust,  in  homage,  as  the  sun 
looked  out  from  the  windows  of  morning,  or  offered 
the  smoke  of  incense  at  nightfall  in  gratitude  for  the 
day,  or  kissed  his  hand  to  the  moon,  thankful  for  that 
spectacle  of  loveliness  passing  above  him ;  the  man  who 
with  reverent  thankfulness  or  penitence,  offers  a  sac- 
rifice of  joy  or  grief,  to  express  what  words  too  poorly 
tell: — he  is  no  idolater,  but  nature's    simple    child. 
We  rejoice  in  self-denial  for  a  father,  a  son,  a  friend. 
Love  and  every  strong  emotion  has  its  sacrifice.     It  is 
rooted  deep  in  the  heart  of  men.     God  needs  nothing. 
He  cannot  receive;  yet  man  needs  to  give.     But  if 
these  things  are  done,  as  substitutes  for  holiness,  as 
causes  and  not  mere  signs  of  reconciliation  with  God; 
as  means  to  coax  and  wheedle  the  deity  and  bribe  the 
All-Powerful,  it  is  superstition,  rank  and  odious.     Ex- 
amples enough  of  this   are  found   in   all   ages.     To 


122  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

take  two  of  the  most  celebrated  cases,  one  from  the 
Hebrews,  the  other  from  a  heathen  people:  Abraham 
would  sacrifice  his  son  to  Jehovah,  who  demanded  that 
offering,*  Agamemnon  his  daughter  to  angry  Diana. 
But  a  deity  kindly  interfers  in  both  cases.  The  angel 
of  Jehovah  rescues  Isaac  from  the  remorseless  knife; 
a  ram  is  found  for  a  sacrifice.  Diana  delivers  the 
daughter  of  Agamemnon  and  leaves  a  hind  in  her 
place.     No  one  doubts  the  latter  is  a  case  of  supersti- 

*Gen.  XXII.  1-14.  The  conjectures  of  the  learned  about 
this  mythical  legend,  which  may  have  some  fact  at  its  founda- 
tion, are  numerous,  and  some  of  them  remarkable  for  their 
ingenuity.  Some  one  supposes  that  Abraham  was  tempted  by 
the  Elohim^  but  Jehovah  prevented  the  sacrifice.  It  is  easy  to 
find  heathen  parallels.  See  the  story  of  Cronus  in  Eusebius,  P. 
E.  I.  10;  of  Aristodemus,  of  whom  Pausanias  tells  a  curious 
story,  IV.  9.  See  the  case  of  Helena  and  Valeria  Luperca,  who 
were  both  miraculously  saved  from  sacrifice,  in  Plutarch,  Par- 
alel.  Opp.  Vol.  II.  p.  314.  The  Bulgarian  legend  of  poor  Lasar 
is  quite  remarkable  and  strikingly  analogous  to  that  of  Abram 
and  Isaac.  A  stranger  comes  to  Lasar's  house,  L.  has  nothing 
for  his  guest's  supper,  and,  therefore,  at  his  suggestion,  kills 
Jenko,  his  son;  the  guest  eats;  but  at  midnight  cries  aloud  that 
he  is  —  the  Lord!  Jenko  is  restored  to  life.  See  the  story  in  a 
notice  of  Paton's  Servia,  in  For.  Quart.  Review  for  Oct.  1845, 
Am.  ed.  p.  130. 

Polybius  says  we  must  allow  writers  to  enlarge  in  stories  of 
miracles,  and  in  fables  of  that  sortj  when  they  desire  to  pro- 
mote piety  among  the  people.  But,  he  adds,  an  excess  in  this 
line  is  not  to  be  tolerated.  Opp.  Lib.  XVI.  ch.  11,  ed.  Schweig- 
hauser;  Oxon.  1823,  III.  p.  289.  Elsewhere  he  says,  this  would 
not  be  necessary  in  a  state  composed  of  wise  men,  but  the 
people  require  to  be  rnanaged  with  obscure  fears  and  tragical 
stories.  Ibid.  Lib.  VI.  ch.  56,  Vol.  II.  p.  389.  Strabo  is  of  the 
same  opinion,  and  thinks  that  women  and  the  people  cannot  be 
led  to  piety  by  philosophical  discourses,  only  by  Fables  and 
Myths.  Geog.  Lib.  I.  ch.  2,  ed.  Siebenkees,  p.  51-2.  Dionysius 
Hal.  speaks  more  wisely.  Antiq.  II.  ch.  18-20,  Opp.  ed.  Reiske; 
Lips.  1774,  I.  p.  271,  et  seq.,  and  properly  commends  Romulus 
for  rejecting  immoral  stories  from  the  public  and  official  theol- 
ogy- 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  123 

tlon  most  ghastly  and  terrible.  A  father  murder  his 
own  child  —  a  human  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  of  Life! 
It  is  rebellion  against  conscience,  reason,  affection; 
treason  against  God.  Though  Calchas,  the  anointed 
minister,  declared  it  the  will  of  heaven  —  there  is  an 
older  than  Calchas  who  says.  It  is  a  lie.  He  that  de- 
fends the  former  patriarch,  counting  it  a  blameless 
and  beautiful  act  of  piety  and  faith  performed  at  the 
command  of  God  —  what  shall  be  said  of  him?  He 
proves  the  worm  of  superstition  is  not  yet  dead,  nor 
its  fire  quenched,  and  leads  weak  men  to  ask.  Which 
then  has  most  of  religion,  the  Christian,  who  justifies 
Abraham,  or  the  pagan  Greeks,  who  condemned 
Agamemnon?  He  leads  weak  men  to  ask;  the  strong 
make  no  question  of  so  plain  a  matter. 

But  why  go  back  to  patriarchs  at  Aulis  or  Moriah ; 
do  we  not  live  in  New  England  and  the  nineteenth 
century?  Have  the  footsteps  of  superstition  been 
effaced  from  our  land?  Our  books  of  theology  are 
full  thereof;  our  churches  and  homes  not  empty  of  it. 
When  a  man  fears  God  more  than  he  loves  him;  when 
he  will  forsake  reason,  conscience,  love  —  the  still 
small  voice  of  God  in  the  heart  —  for  any  of  the  legion 
voices  of  authority,  tradition,  expediency  which  come 
of  ignorance,  selfishness,  and  sin;  whenever  he  hopes 
by  a  poor  prayer,  or  a  listless  attendance  at  church, 
or  an  austere  observance  of  sabbaths  and  fast-days, 
a  compliance  with  forms ;  when  he  hopes  by  professing 
with  his  tongue  the  doctrine  he  cannot  believe  in  his 
heart,  to  atone  for  wicked  actions,  wrong  thoughts, 
unholy  feelings,  a  six-days'  life  of  meanness,  deception, 
rottenness,  and  sin, —  then  is  he  superstitious.  Are 
there  no  fires  but  those  of  Moloch ;  no  idols  of  printed 
paper,  and  spoken  wind?     No  false  worship  but  bow- 


124  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

ing  the  knee  to  Baal,  Adonis,  Priapus,  Cybele?  Su- 
perstition changes  its  forms,  not  its  substance.  If  he 
were  superstitious  who  in  days  of  ignorance  but  made 
his  son's  body  pass  through  the  fire  to  his  God,  what 
shall  be  said  of  them  in  an  age  of  light,  who  sys- 
tematically degrade  the  fairest  gifts  of  men,  God's 
dearest  benefaction;  who  make  life  darkness,  death 
despair,  the  world  a  desert,  man  a  worm,  nothing  but 
a  worm,  and  God  an  ugly  fiend,  that  made  the  most  of 
men  for  utter  wretchedness,  death,  and  eternal  hell? 
Alas  for  them.  They  are  blind  and  see  not.  They 
lie  down  in  their  folly.     Let  charity  cover  them  up. 

II.  Of  Fanaticism. 

There  is  another  morbid  state  of  the  religious  ele- 
ment. It  consists  in  its  union  with  hatred  and  other 
malignant  passions  in  men.  Here  it  leads  to  fanati- 
cism. As  the  essence  of  superstition  is  fear  coupled 
with  religious  feeling;  so  the  essence  of  fanaticism  is 
malice  mingling  with  that  sentiment.  It  may  be  called 
Hatred  before  God.  The  superstitious  man  fears 
lest  God  hate  him;  the  fanatic  thinks  he  hates  not  him 
but  his  enemies.  Is  the  fanatic  a  Jew? — the  Gen- 
tiles are  hateful  to  Jehovah;  a  Mahometan.? — all  are 
infidel  dogs  who  do  not  bow  to  the  prophet,  their  end 
is  destruction.  Is  he  a  Christian.? — he  counts  all 
others  as  heathens  whom  God  will  damn ;  of  this  or 
that  sect? — he  condemns  all  the  rest  for  their  belief, 
let  their  life  be  divine  as  the  prayer  of  a  saint.  Out 
of  his  selfish  passion  he  creates  him  a  god;  breathes 
into  it  the  breath  of  his  hatred ;  he  worships  and  prays 
to  it,  and  says  "  Deliver  me,  for  thou  art  my  God." 
Then  he  feels  —  so  he  fancies  —  inspiration  to  visit  his 
foes  with  divine  vengeance.     He  can  curse  and  smite 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  1^5 

them  in  the  name  of  his  god.  It  is  the  sword  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  fire  of  the  Most  High  that  drinks  up  the 
blood  and  stifles  the  groan  of  the  wretched. 

Like  superstition,  it  is  found  in  all  ages  of  the  world. 
It  is  the  insanity  of  mankind.  As  the  richest  soils 
grow  weightiest  harvests,  or  most  noxious  weeds  and 
poisons  the  most  baneful ;  as  the  strongest  bodies  take 
disease  the  most  sorely,  so  the  deepest  natures,  the 
highest  forms  of  worship,  when  once  infected  with  this 
leprosy,  go  to  the  wildest  excess  of  desperation.  Thus 
the  fanaticism  of  worshippers  of  one  God  has  no  par- 
allel, among  idolaters  and  polytheists.  There  is  a 
point  in  human  nature  where  moral  distinctions  do  not 
appear,  as  on  the  earth  there  are  spots  where  the  com- 
pass will  not  traverse,  and  dens  where  the  sun  never 
shines.  This  fact  is  little  dwelt  on  by  philosophers; 
still  it  is  a  fact.  Seen  from  this  point,  right  and  wrong 
lose  their  distinctive  character  and  run  into  each  other. 
Good  seems  evil  and  evil  good,  or  both  appear  the 
same.  The  sophistry  of  the  understanding  sometimes 
leagues  with  appetite  and  gradually  entices  the 
thoughtless  into  this  pit.  The  Antinomian  of  all  times, 
turns  in  thither,  to  increase  his  faith  and  diminish  his 
works.  It  is  the  very  cave  of  Trophonius ;  he  that  en- 
ters loses  his  manhood  and  walks  backward  as  he  re- 
turns; his  soul,  so  filled  with  God,  whatever  the  flesh 
does,  he  thinks  cannot  be  wrong,  though  it  breaks  all 
laws,  human  and  divine.  The  fanatic  dwells  contin- 
ually in  this  state;  God  demands  of  him  to  persecute 
his  foes.  The  thought  troubles  him  by  day,  and  stares 
on  him  as  a  spectre  at  night.  God  or  his  angel,  ap- 
pear to  his  crazed  fancy  and  bid  him  to  the  work  with 
promise  of  reward,  or  spurs  him  with  a  curse.  Then 
there  is  no  lie  too  malignant  for  him  to  invent  and 


126         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

utter;  no  curse  too  awful  for  him  to  imprecate;  no 
refinement  of  torture  too  cruel  or  exquisitely  rending 
for  his  fancy  to  devise,  his  malice  to  inflict;  nature  is 
teased  for  new  tortures ;  art  is  racked  to  extort  fresh 
engines  of  cruelty.  As  the  jaded  Roman  offered  a  re- 
ward for  the  invention  of  a  new  pleasure,  so  the  fan- 
atic would  renounce  heaven  could  he  give  an  added 
pang  to  hell. 

Men  of  this  character  have  played  so  great  a  part  in 
the  world's  history,  they  must  not  be  passed  over  in 
silence.  The  ashes  of  the  innocents  they  have  burned, 
are  sown  broadcast  and  abundant  in  all  lands.  The 
earth  is  quick  with  this  living  dust.  The  blood  of 
prophets,  and  saviors  they  have  shed  still  cries  for 
justice.  The  Canaanites,  the  Jews,  the  Saracen,  the 
Christian,  polytheist  and  idolater.  New  Zealand  and 
New  England  are  guilty  of  this.  Let  the  early  Chris- 
tian and  the  delaying  heathen  tell  their  tale.  Let  the 
voice  of  the  heretic  speak  from  the  dungeon-racks  of 
the  Inquisition ;  that  of  the  "  true  believer  "  from  the 
scaffolds  of  Elizabeth  —  most  Christian  Queen ;  let 
the  voices  of  the  murdered  come  up  from  the  squares 
of  Paris,  the  plains  of  the  Low  Countries,  from  the 
streets  of  Antioch,  Byzantium,  Jerusalem,  Alexandria, 
Damascus,  Rome,  Mexico ;  from  the  wheels,  racks,  and 
gibbets  of  the  world ;  let  the  men  who  died  in  religious 
wars,  always  the  bloodiest  and  most  remorseless ;  the 
women,  whom  nothing  could  save  from  a  fate  yet  more 
awful ;  the  babes,  newly  born,  who  perished  in  the  sack 
and  conflagation  of  idolatrous  and  heretical  cities, 
when  for  the  sake  of  religion  men  violated  its  every 
precept,  and  in  the  name  of  God  broke  down  his  law, 
and  trampled  his  image  into  bloody  dust; — let  all 
these  speak,  to  admonish,  and  to  blame. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  m 

But  it  is  not  well  to  rest  on  general  terms  alone. 
Paul  had  no  little  fanaticism,  when  he  persecuted  the 
Christians;  kept  the  garments  of  men  who  stoned 
Stephen.  Moses  had  much  of  it,  if  as  the  story  goes, 
he  commanded  the  extirpation  of  nations  of  idolaters, 
millions  of  men,  virtuous  as  the  Jews ;  Joshua,  Samuel, 
David,  had  much  of  it,  and  executed  schemes  bloody 
as  a  murderer's  most  sanguine  dream.  It  has  been 
both  the  foe  and  the  auxiliary  of  the  Christian  church. 
There  is  a  long  line  of  fanatics,  extending  from  the 
time  of  Jesus  reaching  from  century  to  century,  march- 
ing on  from  age  to  age,  with  the  banner  of  the  cross 
over  their  heads,  and  the  gospel  on  their  tongues,  and 
fire  and  sword  in  their  hands.*  The  last  of  that  Apoc- 
alyptic rabble  has  not  as  yet  passed  by.  Let  the  clouds 
of  darkness  hide  them.  What  need  to  tell  of  our  own 
fathers;  what  they  suffered,  what  they  inflicted;  their 
crime  is  fresh  and  unatoned.  Rather  let  us  take  the 
wings  of  an  angel,  and  fly  away  from  scenes  so  awful, 
the  slaughter-house  of  souls. 

But  the  milder  forms  of  fanaticism  we  cannot  es- 
cape. They  meet  us  in  the  theological  war  of  extermi- 
nation, which  sect  now  wars  with  sect,  pulpit  with  pul- 
pit, man  with  man.  If  one  would  seek  specimens  of 
superstition  in  its  milder  form,  let  him  open  a  popular 
commentary  on  the  Bible,  or  read  much  of  what  weak- 
ish  matter  which  circulates  in  what  men  call,  as  if  in 
mockery,  "  good,  pious  books."  If  he  would  find 
fanaticism  in  its  modem  and  more  Pharisaic  shape, 
let  him  open  the  sectarian  newspapers,  or  read  theolog- 
ical polemics.  To  what  mean  uses  may  we  not  de- 
scend? The  spirit  of  a  Caligula  and  a  Dominic,  of 
Alva  and  Ignatius  stares  at  men  in  the  street.     It  can 

*  See  the  Book  of  Revelation,  passim. 


128  A  DISCOURSE  OP  RELIGION 

only  bay  in  the  distance;  it  dares  not  bite.  Poor, 
craven  fanaticism !  fallen  like  Lucifer,  never  to  hope 
again.  Like  Pope  and  Pagan  in  the  story,  he  sits 
chained  by  the  wayside,  to  grin  and  gibber,  and  howl 
and  snarl,  as  the  pilgrim  goes  by,  singing  the  song  of 
the  fearless  and  free,  on  the  highway  to  heaven,  with  his 
girdle  about  him  and  white  robe  on.  Poor  fanaticism, 
who  was  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  and  in 
his  debauch,  lifted  his  horn  and  pushed  at  the  Al- 
mighty, and  slew  the  children  of  God, —  he  shall  revel 
but  in  the  dreamy  remembrance  of  his  ancient  crime; 
his  teeth  shall  be  fleshed  no  more  in  the  limbs  of  the 
living. 

These  two  morbid  states  just  past  over,  represent  the 
most  hideous  forms  of  human  degradation;  where  the 
foulest  passions  are  at  their  foulest  work ;  where  malice, 
which  a  devil  might  envy,  and  which  might  make  hell 
darker  with  its  frown ;  where  hate  and  rancor  build  up 
their  organizations  and  ply  their  arts.  In  man  there  is 
a  mixture  of  good  and  evil.  "  A  being  darkly  wise  and 
poorly  great,"  he  has  in  him  somewhat  of  the  angel  and 
something  of  the  devil.  In  fanaticism,  the  angel  sleeps 
and  the  devil  drives.  But  let  us  leave  the  hateful 
theme.* 

*  A  powerful  priesthood  has  usually  had  great  influence  in 
promoting  fanaticism  of  the  most  desperate  character.  One 
need  only  look  over  the  history  of  persecutions  in  all  ages  to 
see  this.  We  see  it  among  the  Hebrews,  the  Germans,  the 
Druids;  the  nations  that  opposed  the  spread  of  Christianity. 
The  Christian  church  itself  has  erected  monuments  enough  to 
perpetuate  the  fact.  The  story  of  Haman  and  Mordecai  is  no 
bad  allegory  of  the  conflict  between  the  orthodox  priesthood  and 
the  unorganized  heretics. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  129 

HI.  Of  Solid  Piety. 

The  legitimate  and  perfect  action  of  the  religious 
element  takes  place  when  it  exists  in  harmonious  com- 
bination with  reason,  conscience,  and  affection.  Then 
it  is  not  hatred,  and  not  fear,  but  Love  before  God. 
It  produces  the  most  beautiful  development  of  human 
nature;  the  golden  age,  the  fairest  Eden  of  life,  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Its  deity  is  the  God  of  infinite 
power,  wisdom,  justice,  love,  and  holiness  —  fidelity 
to  himself, —  within  whose  encircling  arms  it  is  beauti- 
ful to  be.  The  demands  it  makes  are  to  keep  the  law 
he  has  written  in  the  heart,  to  be  good,  to  do  good, 
to  love  men,  to  love  God.  It  may  use  forms,  prayers, 
dogmas,  ceremonies,  priests,  temples,  sabbaths,  festi- 
vals, and  fasts;  yes,  sacrifices  if  it  will,  as  means,  not 
ends;  symbols  of  a  sentiment,  not  substitutes  for  it. 
Its  substance  is  love  of  God ;  its  piety  the  form,  moral- 
ity the  love  of  men ;  its  temple  a  pure  heart ;  its  sac- 
rifice a  divine  life.  The  end  it  proposes  is,  to  reunite 
the  man  with  God,  till  he  thinks  God's  thought,  which 
is  truth;  feels  God's  feelings,  which  is  love,  will  God's 
will,  which  is  the  eternal  right;  thus  finding  God  in 
the  sense  wherein  he  is  not  far  from  any  one  of  us; 
becoming  one  with  him,  and  so  partaking  the  divine 
nature.  The  means  to  this  high  end  are  an  extinction 
of  all  in  man  that  opposes  God's  law;  a  perfect  obe- 
dience to  Him  as  he  speaks  in  reason,  conscience,  affec- 
tion. It  leads  through  active  obedience  to  an  absolute 
trust,  a  perfect  love;  to  the  complete  harmony  of  the 
finite  man  with  the  infinite  God,  and  man's  will  coales- 
ces in  that  of  him  who  is  all  in  all.  Then  faith  and 
knowledge  are  the  same  thing,  reason  and  revelation 

do  not  conflict,  desire  and  duty  go  hand  in  hand,  and 
III— 9 


130  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

strew  man's  path  with  flowers.  Desire  has  become 
dutiful,  and  duty  desirable.  The  divine  spirit  incar- 
nates itself  in  the  man.  The  riddle  of  the  world  is 
solved.  Perfect  love  casts  our  fear.  Then  religion 
demands  no  particular  actions,  forms,  or  modes  of 
thought.  The  man's  ploughing  is  holy  as  his  prayer ; 
his  daily  bread  as  the  smoke  of  his  sacrifice;  his  home 
sacred  as  his  temple ;  his  work-day  and  his  sabbath  are 
alike  God's  day.  His  priest  is  the  holy  spirit  within 
him;  faith  and  works  his  communion  of  both  kinds. 
He  does  not  sacrifice  reason  to  religion,  nor  religion 
to  reason.  Brother  and  sister,  they  dwell  together  in 
love.  A  life  harmonious  and  beautiful,  conducted  by 
righteousness,  filled  full  with  truth  and  enchanted  by 
love  to  men  and  God, —  this  is  the  service  he  pays  to 
the  father  of  all.  Belief  does  not  take  the  place  of 
life.  Capricious  austerity  atones  for  no  duty  left  un- 
done. He  loves  religion  as  a  bride,  for  her  own  sake, 
not  for  what  she  brings.  He  lies  low  in  the  hand  of 
God.     The  breath  of  the  father  is  on  him. 

If  joy  comes  to  this  man,  he  rejoices  in  its  rosy 
light.  His  wealth,  his  wisdom,  his  power,  is  not  for 
himself  alone,  but  for  all  God's  children.  Nothing  is 
his  which  a  brother  needs  more  than  he.^  Like  God 
himself,  he  is  kind  to  the  thankless  and  unmerciful. 
Purity  without  and  piety  within ;  these  are  his  heaven, 
both  present  and  to  come.  Is  not  his  flesh  as  holy  as 
his  soul  —  his  body  a  temple  of  God  ? 

If  trouble  comes  on  him,  which  prudence  could  not 
foresee,  nor  strength  overcome,  nor  wisdom  escape 
from,  he  bears  it  with  a  heart  serene  and  full  of  peace. 
Over  every  gloomy  cavern,  and  den  of  despair,  hope 
arches  her  rainbow ;  the  ambrosial  light  descends.  Re- 
ligion shows  him^  that,  out  of  desert  rocks,  black  and 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  131 

savage,  where  the  vulture  has  her  Rome,  where  the 
storm  and  the  avalanche  are  bom,  and  whence  they 
descend,  to  crush  and  to  kill;  out  of  these  hopeless 
cliffs  falls  the  river  of  life,  which  flows  for  all,  and 
makes  glad  the  people  of  God.  When  the  storm  and 
the  avalanche  sweep  from  him  all  that  is  dearest  to 
mortal  hope,  is  he  comfortless?  Out  of  the  hard  mar- 
ble of  life,  the  deposition  of  a  few  joys  and  many  sor- 
rows, of  birth  and  death,  and  smiles  and  grief,  he  hews 
him  the  beautiful  statue  of  religious  tranquility.  It 
stands  ever  beside  him,  with  the  smile  of  heavenly  sat- 
isfaction on  its  lip,  and  its  trusting  finger  pointing  to 
the  sky. 

The  true  religious  man,  amid  all  the  ills  of  time, 
keeps  a  serene  forehead,  and  entertains  a  peaceful 
heart.  Thus  going  out  and  coming  in  amid  all  the 
trials  of  the  city,  the  agony  of  the  plague,  the  hor- 
rors of  the  thirty  tyrants,  the  fierce  democracy  abroad, 
the  fiercer  ill  at  home,  the  saint,  the  sage  of  Athens, 
was  still  the  same.  Such  an  one  can  endure  hardness ; 
can  stand  alone  and  be  content ;  a  rock  amid  the  waves, 
lonely,  but  not  moved.  Around  him  the  few  or  many 
may  scream  their  screams,  or  cry  their  clamors ;  calum- 
niate or  blaspheme.  What  is  it  all  to  him,  but  the 
cawing  of  the  sea-bird  about  that  solitary  and  deep- 
rooted  stone?  So  swarms  of  summer  flies,  and  spite- 
ful wasps,  may  assail  the  branches  of  an  oak,  which 
lifts  its  head,  storm-tried  and  old,  above  the  hills. 
They  move  a  leaf,  or  bend  a  twig  by  their  united 
weight.  Their  noise,  fitful  and  malicious,  elsewhere 
might  frighten  the  sheep  in  the  meadows.  Here  it 
becomes  a  placid  hum.  It  joins  the  wild  whisper  of 
the  leaves.  It  swells  the  breezy  music  of  the  tree,  but 
makes  it  bear  no  acorn  less. 


132  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

He  fears  no  evil,  God  is  his  armor  against  fate. 
He  rejoices  in  his  trials,  and  Jeremiah  sings  psalms  in 
his  dungeon,  and  Daniel  prays  three  times  a  day  with 
his  window  up,  that  all  may  hear,  and  Nebuchadnezzar 
cast  him  to  the  lions  if  he  will ;  Luther  will  go  to  the 
Diet  at  Worms,  if  it  rain  enemies  for  nine  days  run- 
ning ;  "  though  the  devils  be  thick  as  the  tiles  on  the 
roof."  Martyred  Stephen  sees  God  in  the  clouds. 
The  victim  at  the  stake  glories  in  the  fire  he  lights, 
which  shall  shine  all  England  through.  Yes,  Paul,  an 
old  man,  forsaken  of  his  friends,  tried  by  many  perils, 
daily  expecting  an  awful  death,  sits  comforted  in  his 
dungeon.  The  Lord  stands  by  and  says.  Fear  not, 
Paul,  Lo,  I  am  with  thee  to  the  world's  end.  The 
tranquil  saint  can  say,  I  know  whom  I  have  served. 
I  have  not  the  spirit  of  fear,  but  joy.  I  am  ready  to 
be  sacrificed.  Such  trials  prove  the  soul  as  gold  is 
proved.  The  dross  perishes  in  the  fire ;  but  the  virgin 
metal  —  it  comes  brighter  from  the  flame.  What  is 
it  for^uch  a  man  to  be  scourged,  forsaken,  his  name 
a  proverb,  counted  as  the  ofFscouring  of  the  world.? 
There  is  that  in  him  which  looks  down  millions.  Cast 
out,  he  is  not  in  dismay ;  forsaken  —  never  less  alone. 
Slowly  and  soft  the  soul  of  faith  comes  into  the  man. 
He  knows  that  he  is  seen  by  the  pure  and  terrible 
eyes  of  Infinity.  He  feels  the  sympathy  of  the  soul  of 
all,  and  says,  with  modest  triumph,  I  am  not  alone, 
for  thou  art  with  me.  Mortal  aff^ections  may  cease 
their  melody;  but  the  infinite  speaks  to  his  soul  com- 
fort too  deep  for  words,  and  too  divine.  What  if  he 
have  not  the  sun  of  human  aff^ection  to  cheer  him? 
The  awful  faces  of  the  stars  look  from  the  serene 
depths  of  divine  love,  and  seem  to  say,  "  Well  done." 
What  if  the  sweet  music  of  human  sympathy  vanish 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  133 

before  the  discordant  curse  of  his  brother  man?  The 
melody  of  the  spheres  —  so  sweet  we  heed  it  not  when 
tried  less  sorely  —  rolls  in  upon  the  soul  its  tranquil 
tide,  and  that  same  word,  which  was  in  the  beginning, 
says,  "  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son  and  in  thee  am  I  well 
pleased."     Earth  is  overcome,  and  heaven  won. 

It  is  well  for  mankind  that  God  now  and  then  raises 
up  a  hero  of  the  soul;  exposes  him  to  grim  trials  in 
the  fore-front  of  the  battle;  sustains  him  there,  that 
we  may  know  what  nobility  is  in  man,  and  how  near 
him  God;  to  show  that  greatness  in  the  religious  man 
is  only  needed  to  be  found;  that  his  charity  does  not 
expire  with  the  quiverings  of  his  flesh;  that  this  hero 
can  end  his  breath  with  a  "  Father,  forgive  them." 

Man  everywhere  is  the  measure  of  man.  There  is 
nothing  which  the  flesh  and  the  devil  can  inflict  in 
their  rage,  but  the  holy  spirit  can  bear  in  its  exceeding 
peace.  The  art  of  the  tormentor  is  less  than  the  na- 
ture of  the  suff*ering  soul.  All  the  denunciations  of 
all  that  sat  on  Moses's  seat,  or  have  since  climbed  to 
that  of  the  Messiah;  the  scorn  of  the  contemptuous; 
the  fury  of  the  passionate;  the  wrath  of  a  monarch, 
and  the  roar  of  his  armies;  all  these  are  to  a  religious 
soul  but  the  buzzing  of  the  flies  about  that  mountain 
oak.     There  is  nothing  that  prevails  against  truth. 

Now  in  some  men  religion  is  a  continual  growth. 
They  are  always  in  harmony  with  God.  Silently  and 
unconscious,  erect  as  a  palm  tree,  they  grow  up  to  the 
measure  of  a  man.  To  them  reason  and  religion  are 
of  the  same  birth.  They  are  bom  saints;  Aborigines 
of  heaven.  Betwixt  their  idea  of  life  and  their  fact 
of  life  there  has  at  no  time  been  a  gulf.  But  others 
join  themselves  to  the  armada  of  sin  and  get  scarred 
all  over  with  wounds  as  they  do  thankless  battle  in  that 


134  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

leprous  host.  Before  these  men  become  religious,  there 
must  be  a  change, —  well-defined,  deeply  marked, — 
a  change  that  will  be  remembered.  The  saints  who 
have  been  sinners  —  tell  us  of  the  struggle  and  des- 
perate battle  that  goes  on  between  the  flesh  and  the 
spirit.  It  is  as  if  the  devil  and  the  archangel  con- 
tended. Well  says  John  Bunyan,  The  devil  fought 
with  me  weeks  long,  and  I  with  the  devil.  To  take 
the  leap  of  Niagara,  and  stop  when  half-way  down, 
and  by  their  proper  motion  reascend  —  is  no  slight 
thing,  nor  the  remembrance  thereof  like  to  pass  away. 

This  passage  from  sin  to  salvation;  this  second 
birth  of  the  soul,  as  both  Christians  and  heathens  call 
it,  is  one  of  the  many  mysteries  of  man.  Two  ele- 
ments meet  in  the  consciousness.  There  is  a  negation 
of  the  past ;  an  affirmation  of  the  future.  Terror  and 
hope,  penitence  and  faith  rush  together  in  that  mo- 
ment and  a  new  life  begins.  The  character  gradually 
grows  over  the  wounds  of  sin.  With  bleeding  feet  the 
man  retreads  his  way,  but  gains  at  last  the  mountain 
top  of  life  and  wonders  at  the  tortuous  track  he  left 
behind. 

Shall  it  be  said  that  religion  is  the  great  refinement 
of  the  world;  its  tranquil  star  that  never  sets.'^  Need 
it  be  told  that  all  nature  works  in  its  behalf ;  that  every 
mute  and  every  living  thing  seems  to  repeat  God's 
voice,  Be  perfect;  that  nature,  which  is  the  out-ness 
of  God,  favors  religion,  which  is  the  vn-ness  of  man, 
and  so  God  works  with  us?  Heathens  knew  it  many 
centuries  ago.  It  has  long  been  known  that  religion 
—  in  its  true  estate  —  created  the  deepest  welfare  of 
man.  Socrates,  Seneca,  Plutarch,  Antoninus,  Fene- 
lon  can  tell  us  this.  It  might  well  be  so.  Religion 
comes  from  what  is  strongest,  deepest,  most  beautiful 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  135 

and  divine;  lays  no  rude  hand  on  soul  or  sense;  con- 
demns no  faculty  as  base.  It  sets  no  bounds  to  reason 
but  truth;  none  to  affection  but  love;  none  to  desire 
but  duty;  none  to  the  soul  but  perfection;  and  these 
are  not  limits  but  the  charter  of  infinite  freedom. 

No  doubt  there  is  joy  in  the  success  of  earthly, 
schemes.  There  is  joy  to  the  miser  as  he  satiates  his 
prurient  palm  with  gold:  there  is  joy  for  the  fool  of 
fortune  when  his  gaming  brings  a  prize.  But  what  is 
it?  His  request  is  granted;  but  leanness  enters  his 
soul.  There  is  delight  in  feasting  on  the  bounties  of 
earth,  the  garment  in  which  Grod  veils  the  brightness 
of  his  face ;  in  being  filled  with  the  fragrant  loveliness 
of  flowers ;  the  song  of  birds ;  the  hum  of  bees ;  the 
sounds  of  ocean ;  the  rustle  of  the  summer  wind,  heard 
at  evening  in  the  pine  tops;  in  the  cool  running 
brooks;  in  the  majestic  sweep  of  undulating  hills;  the 
grandeur  of  untamed  forests;  the  majesty  of  the 
mountain ;  in  the  morning's  virgin  beauty ;  in  the  ma- 
ternal grace  of  evening,  and  the  sublime  and  mystic 
pomp  of  night.  Nature's  silent  sympathy  —  how 
beautiful  it  is. 

There  is  joy  no  doubt  there  is  joy,  to  the  mind  of 
genius,  when  thought  bursts  on  him  as  the  tropic  sun 
rending  a  cloud;  when  long  trains  of  ideas  sweep 
through  his  soul,  like  constellated  orbs  before  an 
angel's  eye ;  when  sublime  thoughts  and  burning  words 
rush  to  the  heart;  when  nature  unveils  her  secret 
truth,  and  some  great  law  breaks,  all  at  once,  upon  a 
Newton's  mind,  and  chaos  ends  in  light ;  when  the  hour 
of  his  inspiration  and  the  joy  of  his  genius  is  on  him, 
't  is  then  that  this  child  of  heaven  feels  a  godlike  de- 
light.    'Tis  sympathy  with  truth. 

There  is   a  higher   and  more  tranquil  bliss,   when 


136  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

heart  communes  with  heart;  when  two  souls  unite  in 
one,  hke  mingling  dew-drops  on  a  rose,  that  scarcely 
touch  the  flower,  but  mirror  the  heavens  in  their  little 
orbs;  when  perfect  love  transforms  two  souls,  either 
man's  or  woman's,  each  to  the  other's  image;  when 
one  heart  beats  in  two  bosoms;  one  spirit  speaks  with 
a  divided  tongue;  when  the  same  soul  is  eloquent  in 
mutual  eyes  —  there  is  a  rapture  deep,  serene,  heart- 
felt, and  abiding  in  this  mysterious  fellow-feeling  with 
a  congenial  soul,  which  puts  to  shame  the  cold  sympa- 
thy of  nature,  and  the  ecstatic  but  short-lived  bliss 
of  genius  in  his  high  and  burning  hour. 

But  the  welfare  of  religion  is  more  than  each  or  all 
of  these.  The  glad  reliance  that  comes  upon  the  man ; 
the  sense  of  trust ;  a  rest  with  God ;  the  soul's  exceed- 
ing peace ;  the  universal  harmony ;  the  infinite  within ; 
sympathy  with  the  soul  of  all  —  is  bliss  that  words 
cannot  portray.  He  only  knows  who  feels.  The 
speech  of  a  prophet  cannot  tell  the  tale.  No:  not  if  a 
seraph  touched  his  lips  with  fire.  In  the  high  hour  of 
religious  visitation  from  the  living  God,  there  seems 
to  be  no  separate  thought;  the  tide  of  universal  life 
sets  through  the  soul.  The  thought  of  self  is  gone. 
It  is  a  little  accident  to  be  a  king  or  a  clown,  a  parent  or 
a  child.  Man  is  at  one  with  God,  and  He  is  all  in  all. 
Neither  the  loveliness  of  nature;  neither  the  joy  of 
genius,  nor  the  sweet  breathing  of  congenial  hearts, 
that  make  delicious  music  as  they  beat, —  neither  one 
nor  all  of  these  can  equal  the  joy  of  the  religious  soul 
that  is  at  one  with  God,  so  full  of  peace  that  prayer  is 
needless.  This  deeper  joy  gives  an  added  charm  to 
the  former  blessings.  Nature  undergoes  a  new  trans- 
formation-. A  story  tells  that  when  the  rising  sun  fell 
on  Memnon's  statue  it  wakened  music  in  that  breast 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENT  137 

of  stone.  Religion  does  the  same  witK  nature.  From 
the  shining  snake  to  the  waterfall,  it  is  all  eloquent  of 
God.  As  to  John  in  the  Apocalypse,  there  stands  an 
angel  in  the  sun ;  the  seraphim  hang  over  every  flower ; 
God  speaks  in  each  little  grass  that  fringes  a  moun- 
tain rock.  Then  even  genius  is  wedded  to  a  greater 
bliss.  His  thoughts  shine  more  brilliant,  when  set  in 
the  light  of  religion.  Friendship  and  love  it  renders 
infinite.  The  man  loves  God  when  he  but  loves  his 
friend.  This  is  the  joy  religion  gives;  its  perennial 
rest ;  its  everlasting  life.  It  comes  not  by  chance. 
It  is  the  possession  of  such  as  ask  and  toil,  and  toil  and 
ask.  It  is  withheld  from  none,  as  other  gifts.  Nature 
tells  little  to  the  deaf,  the  blind,  the  rude.  Every  man 
is  not  a  genius,  and  has  not  his  joy.  Few  men  can 
find  a  friend  that  is  the  world  to  them.  That  triune 
sympathy  is  not  for  every  one.  But  this  welfare  of 
religion,  the  deepest,  truest,  the  everlasting,  the  sym- 
pathy with  God,  lies  within  the  reach  of  all  his  sons. 


BOOK  II 


139 


"Reason  is  natural  revelation,  whereby  the  eternal  father 
of  light  and  fountain  of  all  knowledge,  communicates  to  man- 
kind that  portion  of  truth  which  he  has  laid  within  the  reach 
of  their  natural  faculties;  Revelation  is  natural  reason  enlarged 
by  a  new  set  of  discoveries,  communicated  by  God  immediately, 
which  reason  vouches  the  truth  of,  by  the  testimony  and  proofs 
it  gives  that  they  come  from  God.  So  that  he  that  takes  away 
reason,  to  make  way  for  revelation  puts  out  the  light  of  both, 
and  does  much-what  the  same,  as  if  he  would  persuade  a  man 
to  put  out  his  eyes,  the  better  to  receive  the  remote  light  of  an 
invisible  star  by  a  telescope."  —  Locke,  Essay,  Book  IV.  Chap. 
XIX.  §  4.     [Added  by  Locke  in  his  fourth  edition.] 


140 


BOOK  II 

THE    RELATION    OF    THE    RELIGIOUS    SEN- 
TIMENT TO  GOD,   OR  A  DISCOURSE  OF 
INSPIRATION 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  IDEA  AND  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD 

Two  things  are  necessary  to  render  religion  possi- 
ble; namely,  a  religious  faculty  in  man,  and  God  out 
of  man  as  the  object  of  that  religious  faculty.  The 
existence  of  these  two  things  admitted,  religion  fol- 
lows necessarily,  as  vision  from  the  existence  of  a  see- 
ing faculty  in  man,  and  that  of  light  out  of  him. 
Now  the  existence  of  the  religious  element,  as  it  was 
said  before,  implies  its  object.  We  have  naturally  a 
sentiment  of  God.  Reason  gives  us  an  idea  of  him. 
But  to  these  we  superadd  a  conception  of  him.  Can 
this  definite  conception  be  adequate?  Certainly  not. 
The  idea  of  God,  as  the  infinite,  may  exhaust  the 
most  transcendent  imagination;  it  is  the  highest  idea 
of  which  man  is  capable.  But  is  God  to  be  measured 
by  our  idea.''  Shall  the  finite  circumscribe  the  infinite? 
The  existence  of  God  is  so  plainly  and  deeply  writ 
both  in  us  and  out  of  us,  in  what  we  are,  and  what  we 
experience,  that  the  humblest  and  the  loftiest  minds 
may  be  satisfied  of  this  reality,  and  may  know  that 
there  is  an  absolute  cause;  a  ground  of  all  things; 
the  infinite  of  power,  wisdom,  justice,  love,  whereon 

141 


142  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

we  may  repose,  wherein  we  may  confide.  This  con- 
clusion comes  alike  from  the  spontaneous  sentiment, 
and  premeditated  reflection ;  from  the  intuition  of  rea- 
son, and  the  process  of  reasoning.  This  idea  of  God 
is  clear  and  distinct;  not  to  be  confounded  with  any 
other  idea. 

But  when  we  attempt  to  go  further,  to  give  a  logical 
description  of  deity,  its  nature  and  essence;  to  define 
and  classify  its  attributes;  to  make  a  definite  concep- 
tion of  God  as  of  the  finite  objects  of  the  senses  or  the 
understanding,  going  into  minute  details,  then  we  have 
nothing  but  our  own  subjective  notions,  which  do  not, 
of  necessity,  have  an  objective  reality  corresponding 
thereto.  All  men  may  know  God  as  the  infinite.  His 
nature  and  essence  are  past  finding  out.  But  we  know 
God  only  in  part  —  from  the  manifestation  of  divinity, 
seen  in  nature,  felt  in  man;  manifestations  of  matter 
and  spirit.  Are  these  the  whole  of  God;  is  man  his 
measure?  Then  is  he  exhausted,  and  not  infinite.  We 
affix  the  terms  of  human  limitation  to  God,  and  speak 
of  his  personality ;  some  limiting  it  to  one,  others  ex- 
tending it  to  three,  to  seven,  to  thirty  or  to  many  mil- 
lions of  persons.  Can  such  terms  apply  to  the  infinite? 
We  talk  of  a  personal  God.  If  thereby  we  only  deny 
that  he  has  the  limitations  of  unconscious  matter,  no 
wrong  is  done.  But  our  conception  of  personality  is 
that  of  finite  personality,  limited  by  human  imperfec- 
tions; hemmed  in  by  time  and  space;  restricted  by 
partial  emotions,  displeasure,  wrath,  ignorance,  ca- 
price. Can  this  be  said  of  God?  If  matter  were  con- 
scious, as  Locke  thinks  it  possible,  it  must  predicate 
materiality  of  God  as  persons  predicate  personality  of 
him.  We  apply  the  term  impersonal.  If  it  mean 
God  has  not  the  limitations  of  our  personality  it  is 


INSPIRATION  143 

well.  But  if  it  mean  that  he  has  thos^  of  unconscious 
matter,  it  is  worse  than  the  other  term.  Can  God  be 
personal  and  conscious,  as  Joseph  and  Peter;  uncon- 
scious and  impersonal  as  a  moss  or  the  celestial  ether.'* 
No  man  will  say  it.  Where  then  is  the  philosophic 
value  of  such  terms  .^^ 

The  nature  of  God  is  past  finding  out.  "  There  is 
no  searching  of  his  understanding."  As  the  absolute 
cause,  God  must  contain  in  himself,  potentially,  the 
ground  of  consciousness,  of  personality  —  yes,  of  un- 
consciousness and  impersonality.  But  to  apply  these 
terms  to  him,  seems  to  me,  a  vain  attempt  to  fathom 
the  abyss  of  the  godhead  and  report  the  soundings. 
Will  our  line  reach  to  the  bottom  of  God.?  There  is 
nothing  on  earth,  or  in  heaven,  to  which  we  can  com- 
pare him ;  of  course  we  can  have  no  image  of  him  in 
the  mind.* 

There  has  been  enough  dogmatism  respecting  the 
nature,  essence,  and  personality  of  God ;  respecting  the 
metaphysics  of  the  deity,  and  that  by  men,  who,  per- 
haps, did  not  thoroughly  understand  all  about  the  na- 
ture, essence,  and  metaphysics  of  man.  It  avails  noth- 
ing.    Meanwhile  the  greatest  religious  souls  that  have 

*  There  has  been  some  controversy  on  this  question  of  the 
personality  of  God  in  modern  times.  The  writings  of  Spinoza, 
both  now  and  formerly,  have  caused  much  discussion  of  this 
point.  The  capital  maxim  of  Spinoza  on  this  head  is,  all  at- 
tempts to  determine  the  nature  of  God,  are  a  negation  of  him. 
Determinatio  negatio  est.  See  Ep.  50,  p.  634,  ed.  Paulus.  He 
thinks  God  has  self-conscious  personality  only  in  self-conscious 
persons,  i.  e.  men.     Ethic.  II.  Prop.  11,  and  CoroU. 

Some  have  thought  to  help  the  matter  by  the  Trinitarian 
hypothesis.  If  there  were  but  one  man  in  the  universe,  he 
could  not  indeed,  it  is  said,  have  our  conception  of  personality, 
which  demands  other  persons.  This  condition  is  fulfilled  for 
the  divine  being  soon  as  we  admit  a  trinity  in  unity.  Mystical 
writers  have  always  inclined  to  a  denial  of  the  personality  of 


lU  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

ever  been,  are  content  to  fall  back  on  the  sentiment 
and  the  idea  of  God,  and  confess  that  none  by  search- 
ing can  perfectly  find  him  out.  They  can  say,  there- 
fore, with  an  old  heathen,  "  Since  he  cannot  be  fully 
declared  by  any  one  name,  though  compounded  of 
never  so  many,  therefore  is  he  rather  to  be  called  by 
every  name,  he  being  both  one  and  all  things ;  so  that 
[to  express  the  whole  of  God,]  either  every  thing  must 
be  called  by  his  name,  or  he  by  the  name  of  every 
thing."  *  "  Call  him,  therefore,"  says  another  pagan, 
"  by  all  names,  for  all  can  express  but  a  whisper  of 
him ;  call  him  rather  by  no  name,  for  none  can  declare 
his  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness." 

Malebranche  says,  with  as  much  philosophy  as  piety, 
"  One  ought  not  so  much  to  call  God  a  spirit,  in  order 
to  express  positively  what  he  is,  as  in  order  to  signify 
that  he  is  not  matter.  He  is  a  being  infinitely  perfect. 
Of  this  we  cannot  doubt.  But  in  the  same  manner  we 
ought  not  to  imagine  .  .  .  that  he  is  clothed  with  a 
human  body  .  .  .  under  color  that  that  figure  was  the 
most  perfect  of  any;  so  neither  ought  we  to  imagine 
that  the  spirit  of  God  has  human  ideas,  or  bears  any 
resemblance  to  our  spirit,  under  color  that  we  know 
nothing    more   perfect   than    the   human   mind.     We 

God.  Thus  Plotinus,  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  Scotus  Erigena, 
Meister  Eckart,  Tauler,  and  Bohme,  to  mention  no  more,  deny 
it.  On  this  subject  see  Hegel,  Lectures  on  the  proofs  of  the 
existence  of  God,  at  the  end  of  Philosophie  der  Religion. 
Encyclopadie,  §  562,  et  seq.,  2d  ed.  See  the  subject  touched 
upon  by  Strauss,  Glaubenslehre,  §  33.  See  also  Nitzsch's  re- 
view of  Strauss  in  Studien  und  Kritiken  for  Jan.  1,  1842. 
Sengler,  ubi  sup.,  B.  I.  p.  Abs.  II.-IV. 

In  reference  to  Spinoza,  see  the  controversial  writings  of 
Messrs.  Norton  and  Ripley,  above  referred  to. 

*  See  the  Asclepian  Dialogue,  and  also  the  passages  from 
Seneca  and  Julian,  cited  in  Cudworth,  Vol.  II.  p.  679,  et  seq., 
Ch.  IV.  §  32. 


INSPIRATION  145 

ought  rather  to  believe  that  as  he  Comprehends  the 
perfection  of  matter,  without  being  material,  ...  so 
he  comprehends  also  the  perfections  of  created  spirits 
without  being  spirit,  in  the  manner  we  conceive  spirit. 
That  his  true  name  is.  He  that  is,  or  in  other  words 
being  without  restriction,  all  being,  the  being  infinite 
and  universal."  *  Still  we  have  a  positive  idea  of  God. 
It  is  the  most  positive  of  all.  It  is  implied  logically 
in  every  idea  that  we  form,  so  that  as  God  himself  is 
the  being  of  all  existence;  the  background  and  cause 
of  all  things  that  are;  the  reality  of  all  appearance, 
so  the  idea  of  God  is  the  central  truth,  as  it  were,  of 
all  other  ideas  whatever.  The  objects  of  all  other 
ideas  are  dependent,  and  not  final;  the  object  of  this 
independent  and  ultimate.  This  idea  of  an  independ- 
ent and  infinite  cause,  therefore,  is  necessarily  presup- 
posed by  the  conception  of  any  dependent  and  finite 
effect.  For  example,  a  man  forms  a  notion  of  his  own 
existence.  This  notion  involves  that  of  dependence, 
which  conducts  him  back  to  that  on  which  dependence 
rests.  He  has  no  complete  notion  of  his  own  existence 
without  the  notion  of  dependence ;  nor  of  that  without 
the  object  on  which  he  depends.  Take  our  stand 
where  we  may,  and  reason,  we  come  back  logically  to 
this  which  is  the  primitive  fact  in  all  our  intellectual 
conceptions,  just  as  each  point  in  the  circumference  of 
a  circle  is  a  point  in  the  radius  thereof,  and  this  leads 

*  Recherches  de  la  Verity,  Li  v.  III.  Ch.  IX.  as  cited  in  Hume, 
Dialogues  concerning  Nat.  Rel.  Vol.  II.  p.  469.  See  Kant, 
Kritik  der  reinen  Vernunft,  p.  441-540,  7th  ed.  Weisse,  Die 
Idee  der  Gottheit;  1833.  Some  have  been  unwilling  to  attribute 
being  to  the  deity,  since  we  have  no  conception  nor  knowledge 
of  being  in  itself,  still  less  of  infinite  being.  Our  knowledge  of 
being  is  only  of  being  this  and  that,  a  conditioned  being,  which 
is  not  predicable  of  God. 

ni— 10 


146  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

straightway  to  the  centre,  whence  they  all  proceed.* 
But  the  idea  of  God  as  a  being  of  infinite  power, 
wisdom,  love, —  in  one  word,  the  absolute  —  does  not 
satisfy.  It  seems  cold;  we  call  it  abstract.  We  are 
not  beings  of  reason  alone ;  so  are  not  satisfied  with 
mere  ideas.  We  have  imagination,  feelings,  limited 
affections,  understanding,  flesh  and  blood.  Therefore 
we  want  a  conception  of  God  which  shall  answer  to 
this  complex  nature  of  ours.  Man  may  be  said  to 
live  in  the  world  of  eternity,  or  abstract  truth;  that 
of  time,  or  historical  events ;  that  of  space,  or  of  con- 
crete things.  Some  men  want,  therefore,  not  only  an 
idea  for  the  first,  but  a  conception  for  the  second,  and 
a  form  for  the  third.  Accordingly  the  feelings,  fear, 
reverence,  devotion,  love,  naturally  personify  God ;  hu- 
manize the  deity,  and  represent  the  infinite  under  the 
limitations  of  a  finite  and  imperfect  being,  whom  we 
"  can  know  all  about."  He  has  the  thoughts,  feelings, 
passions,  limitations  of  a  man;  is  subject  to  time  and 
space;  sees,  remembers,  has  a  form.  This  is  anthro- 
pomorphism. It  is  well  in  its  place.  Some  rude  men 
seem  to  require  it.  They  must  paint  to  themselves  a 
deity  with  a  form  —  the  ancient  of  days ;  a  venerable 
monarch  seated  on  a  throne,  surrounded  by  troops  of 
followers.  But  it  must  be  remembered  all  this  is  poe- 
try; this  personal  and  anthropomorphitic  conception 

*  This  is  not  the  place  to  attempt  a  proof  of  God's  existence. 
In  Book  I.  Ch.  II.  I  could  only  hint  at  the  sources  of  argument. 
See  in  Weisse,  Kant,  and  Strauss,  a  critcism  on  the  various 
means  of  proof  resorted  to  by  different  Philosophers.  Weisse 
divides  these  proofs  into  three  classes.  1.  The  Ontological  ar- 
gument, which  leads  to  Pantheism;  II.  The  Cosmological,  which 
leads  to  Deism;  and  III.  the  Theological^  which  leads  to  pure 
Theism.  See  Leibnitz,  Theodicee,  Pt.  I.  §  7,  p.  506,  ed.  Erd- 
mann;  1840,  and  his  Epist.  ad  Bierlingium,  in  his  Epp.  ad  div. 
Ed.  Kortholt,  Vol.  IV.  p.  21  (cited  by  Strauss,  ubi  sup). 


INSPIRATION  147 

is  a  phantom  of  the  brain  that  has^  no  existence  in- 
dependent of  ourselves.  A  poet  personifies  a  mountain 
or  the  moon;  addresses  it  as  if  it  wore  the  form  of 
man,  could  see  and  feel,  had  human  thoughts,  senti- 
ments, hopes  and  pleasures  and  expectations.  What 
the  poet's  fancy  does  for  the  mountain,  the  feelings  of 
reverence  and  devotion  do  for  the  idea  of  God.  They 
clothe  it  with  a  human  personality,  because  that  is  the 
highest  which  is  known  to  us.  Men  would  compre- 
hend the  deity ;  they  can  only  apprehend  him.  A  bea- 
ver, or  a  reindeer,  if  possessed  of  religious  faculties, 
would  also  conceive  of  the  deity  with  the  limitations  of 
its  own  personality,  as  a  beaver  or  a  reindeer  —  whose 
faculties  as  such  were  perfect;  but  the  conception,  like 
our  own,  must  be  only  subjective,  for  even  man  is  no 
measure  of  God.* 

Now  by  reasoning  we  lay  aside  the  disguises  of  the 
deity,  which  the  feelings  have  wrapped  about  the  idea 
of  him.  We  separate  the  substantial  from  the  phe- 
nomenal elements  in  the  conception  of  God.  We  di- 
vest it  of  all  particular  form;  all  sensual  or  corporeal 
attributes,  and  have  no  image  of  God  in  the  mind.  He 
is  spirit,f  and  therefore  free  from  the  limitations  of 
space.  He  is  nowhere  in  particular,  but  everywhere 
in  general,  essentially  and  vitally  omnipresent.  Deny- 
ing all  particular  form,  we  must  affirm  of  him  universal 
being. 

The  next  step  in  the  analysis  is  to  lay  aside  all  par- 

*  See  Xenophanes  as  cited  above  by  Eusebius,  P.  E.  XIII. 
13.  See  Karsten,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  p.  35,  et  seq.  The  passage 
from  Seneca,  De  Superstitione,  preserved  by  Augustine,  Civ. 
Dei  Lib.  VI.  C.  10.  Seneca,  Opp.  ed.  Paris,  1829,  IV.  p.  39, 
et  seq. 

1 1  use  the  term  Spirit  simply  as  a  negation  of  the  Kmitations 
of  matter.    We  cannot  tell  the  essence  of  God. 


148  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

tial  action  of  the  deity.  He  is  equally  the  cause  of  the 
storm  and  the  calm  sunshine;  of  the  fierceness  of  the 
lion  and  the  lamb's  gentleness  so  long  as  both  obey 
the  laws  they  are  made  to  keep.  All  the  natural  action 
in  the  material  world  is  God's  action,  whether  the  wind 
blows  a  plank  and  the  shipwrecked  woman  who  grasps 
it  to  the  shore,  or  scatters  a  fleet  and  sends  families  to 
the  bottom.  But  infinite  action  or  causation  must  be 
attributed  to  him. 

Then  all  mental  processes,  like  those  of  men,  are 
separated  from  the  idea  of  him.  We  cannot  say  he 
thinks,  for  that  is  to  reason  from  the  known  to  the  un- 
known, which  is  impossible  to  the  omniscient ;  nor  that 
he  plans  or  consults  with  himself,  for  that  implies  the 
infirmity  of  not  seeing  the  best  way  all  at  once;  nor 
that  he  remembers  or  foresees,  for  that  implies  a  restric- 
tion in  time,  a  past  and  a  present,  while  the  infinite 
must  fill  eternity,  all  time,  as  well  as  immensity  all 
space.  We  cannot  attribute  to  him  reflection,  which 
is  after- thought,  nor  imagination,  which  is  fore- 
thought, since  both  imply  limited  faculties.  Judg- 
ment, fancy,  comparison,  induction  —  these  are  the 
operations  of  finite  minds.  They  are  not  to  be  applied 
to  the  divine  being  except  as  figures  of  speech;  then 
they  merely  represent  an  unknown  emotion.  We  have 
got  a  name  but  no  real  thing.  But  infinite  knowing 
must  be  his. 

We  go  still  further  in  this  analysis  of  the  conception 
of  God,  and  all  partial  feeling  must  be  denied.  We 
cannot  say  that  he  hates ;  is  angry,  or  grieved ;  repents ; 
is  moved  by  the  special  prayer  of  James  and  John; 
that  he  is  sad  to-day  and  to-morrow  joyful;  all  these 
are  human,  limitations  of  our  personality,  and  are  no 


INSPIRATION  149 

more  to  be  ascribed  to  God  than  the  jform  of  the  rein- 
deer, or  the  shrewdness  of  the  beaver.  But  love  im- 
phes  no  finiteness.     This  we  conceive  as  infinite. 

At  the  end  of  the  analysis,  what  is  left?  Being, 
Cause,  Knowledge,  Love,  each  with  no  conceivable 
limitation.  To  express  it  in  a  word,  a  being  of  infinite 
power,  wisdom,  justice,  love,  and  holiness,  fidelity  to 
himself.  Thus  by  an  analysis  of  the  conception  of 
God,  we  find  in  fact  or  by  implication,  just  what  was 
given  synthetically  by  the  intuition  of  reason.  But 
do  these  qualities  exhaust  the  deity?  Surely  not. 
They  only  form  our  idea  of  him.  It  is  idle,  impious 
in  men  to  say,  the  finite  creature  of  yesterday  can 
measure  him  who  is  the  all  in  all,  the  true,  the  holy, 
the  good,  the  altogether-beautiful.  Let  a  man  look 
into  the  Milky-way,  and  strive  to  conceive  of  the  mind 
that  is  the  cause,  the  will,  of  all  those  centres  to  un- 
know  worlds,  and  ask  What  can  I  know  of  him?  Nay, 
let  a  man  turn  over  in  his  hand  a  single  crystal  of 
snow,  and  consider  its  elements,  their  history,  trans- 
formation, influence,  and  try  to  grasp  up  the  philoso- 
phy of  this  little  atom  of  matter,  and  he  will  learn  to 
bow  before  the  thought  of  him,  and  say  there  is  no 
searching  of  his  understanding.  If  there  are  other 
orders  of  beings  higher  than  ourselves,  their  idea  of 
God  must  include  elements  above  our  reach.  The  finite 
approximates,  but  cannot  reach  the  infinite. 

In  criticizing  the  conception  of  God,  I  would  not 
attempt  the  fool's  task,  to  define  and  describe  God's 
nature,  but  to  separate  our  idea  of  him  from  all  other 
ideas;  not  to  tell  all  in  God  that  answers  to  the  idea 
in  man, —  that  of  course  is  impossible,  but  to  separate 


160  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

the  eternal  idea  from  the  transient  conception;  to  de- 
clare the  positive  and  necessary  existence  of  this  idea 
in  man;  of  its  object  out  of  man,  while  I  deny  the 
existence  of  any  limitations  of  human  personality,  or 
of  our  anthropomorphitic  consciousness  in  the  deity. 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  RELATION  OF  NATURE  TO  GOD 

To  determine  the  relation  of  man  to  God  it  is  well 
to  determine  first  the  relation  of  God  to  nature  —  the 
material  world  —  that  we  may  have  the  force  of  the 
analogy  of  that  relation  to  aid  us.  Conscious  man 
may  be  very  dissimilar  to  unconscious  matter,  but  yet 
their  relations  to  God  are  analogous.  Both  depend  on 
him.  To  make  out  the  point  and  decide  the  relation 
of  God  to  nature  we  must  start  from  the  idea  of  God, 
which  was  laid  down  above,  a  being  of  infinite  power, 
wisdom,  justice,  love,  and  holiness.  Now  to  make  the 
matter  clear  as  noonday,  God  is  either  present  in  all 
space,  or  not  present  in  all  space.  If  infinite,  he  must 
be  present  everywhere  in  general,  and  not  limited  to 
any  particular  spot,  as  an  old  writer  so  beautifully 
says :  "  Even  heaven  and  the  heaven  of  heavens  can- 
not contain  him."  *  Heathen  writers  are  full  of  such 
expressions.!  God,  then,  is  universally  present  in  the 
world  of  matter.  He  is  the  substantiality  of  matter. 
The  circle  of  his  being  in  space  has  an  infinite  radius. 
We  cannot  say,  Lo  here  or  Lo  there  —  for  he  is  every- 
where. He  fills  all  nature  with  his  overflowing  cur- 
rents ;  without  him  it  were  not.  His  presence  gives  it 
existence ;  his  will  its  law  and  force ;  his  wisdom  its 
order ;  his  goodness  its  beauty. 

It  follows  unavoidably,  from  the  idea  of  God,  that 
he   is   present   everywhere    in   space;   not   transiently 

♦  See,  too,  the  beautiful  statement  in  Ps.  CXXXIX.  1-13. 
t  See  those  in  Cudworth,  Chap.  IV.  §  28,  and  elsewhere. 
151 


162         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

present,  now  and  then,  but  immanently  present,  always ; 
his  centre  here;  his  circumference  nowhere;  just  as 
present  in  the  eye  of  an  emmet  as  in  the  Jewish  holy  of 
holies,  or  the  sun  itself.  We  may  call  common  what 
God  has  cleansed  with  his  presence;  but  there  is  no 
corner  of  space  so  small,  no  atom  of  matter  so  de- 
spised and  little  but  God,  the  infinite,  is  there.* 

Now,  to  push  the  inquiry  nearer  the  point.  The 
nature  or  substance  of  God,  as  represented  by  our  idea 
of  him,  is  divisible  or  not  divisible.  If  infinite  he  must 
be  indivisible,  a  part  of  God  cannot  be  in  this  point 
of  space,  and  another  in  that;  his  power  in  the  sun, 
his  wisdom  in  the  moon,  and  his  justice  in  the  earth. 
He  must  be  wholly,  vitally,  essentially  present  as  much 
in  one  point  as  in  another  point,  or  all  points ;  as 
essentially  present  in  each  point  at  any  one  moment 
of  time  as  at  any  other  or  all  moments  of  time.  He  is 
there  not  idly  present  but  actively,  as  much  now  as  at 
creation.  Divine  omnipotence  can  neither  slumber  nor 
sleep.  Was  God  but  transiently  active  in  matter  at 
creation,  his  action  now  passed  away?  From  the  idea' 
of  him  it  follows  that  he  is  immanent  in  the  world, 
however  much  he  also  transcends  the  world.  "  Our 
Father  worketh  hitherto,"  and  for  this  reason  nature 
works,  and  so  has  done  since  its  creation.  There  is  no 
spot  the  foot  of  hoary  time  has  trod  on  but  it  is  in- 
stinct with  God's  activity.  He  is  the  ground  of  nature ; 
what  is  permanent  in  the  passing;  what  is  real  in  the 
apparent.  All  nature  then  is  but  an  exhibition  of  God 
to  the  senses;  the  veil  of  smoke  on  which  his  shadow 
falls ;  the  dew-drop  in  which  the  heaven  of  his  magnifi- 

*See  the  judicious  remarks  of  Lord  Brougham,  Dialogue  on 
Instinct,  Dial.  II.  near  the  end.  Dr.  Palfrey,  in  his  Dudleian 
Lecture,  attributes  only  a  qualified  omnipresence  to  the  deity. 


INSPIRATION  153 

cence  is  poorly  imaged.  The  sun  is  but  a  sparkle  of 
his  splendor.  Endless  and  without  beginning  flows 
forth  the  stream  of  divine  influence  that  encircles  and 
possesses  the  all  of  things.  From  God  it  comes,  to 
God  it  goes.  The  material  world  is  perpetual  growth ; 
a  continual  transfiguration,  renewal  that  never  ceases. 
Is  this  without  God.?  Is  it  not  because  God,  who  is 
ever  the  same,  flows  into  it  without  end?  It  is  the 
fulness  of  God  that  flows  into  the  crystal  of  the  rock, 
the  juices  of  the  plant,  the  life  of  the  emmet  and  the 
elephant.  He  penetrates  and  pervades  the  world.  All 
things  are  full  of  him,  who  surrounds  the  sun,  the  stars, 
the  universe  itself ;  "  goes  through  all  lands,  the  ex- 
panse of  oceans,  and  the  profound  heaven."  * 

Inanimate  matter,  by  itself,  it  dependent;  incapable 
of  life,  motion,  or  even  existence.  To  assert  the  op- 
posite is  to  make  it  a  God.  In  its  present  state  it  has 
no  will.  Yet  there  is  in  it  existence,  motion,  life.  The 
smallest  molecule  in  a  ray  of  polarized  light  and  the 
largest  planet  in  the  system  exist  and  move  as  if  pos- 
sessed of  a  will,  powerful,  regular,  irresistible.  The 
powers  of  nature,  then,  that  of  gravitation,  electricity, 
growth,  what  are  they  but  modes  of  God's  action  .^^ 
If  we  look  deep  into  the  heart  of  this  mystery,  such 
must  be  the  conclusion.  Nature  is  moved  by  the  first 
mover;  beautified  by  him  who  is  the  sum  of  beauty; 
animated  by  him  who  is  of  all  the  creator,  defence, 
and  life.f 

*  Virgil,  Georgic,  IV.  222.  See  many  passages  cited  by  Cud- 
worth,  chap.  IV.  §  31,  p.  664,  et  seq.  455,  et  seq.  and  the  passages 
collected  from  Tschaleddin  Rumi  by  Riickert,  in  his  Gedichte, 
and  Tholuck,  BlUthensammlung  aus  der  morgenlandischen  Mys- 
tik. 

tCudworth  makes  three  hypotheses;  either,  1.  All  things  hap- 
pen in  nature  by  the  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms,  and  this  it 


164  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Such,  then,  is  the  relation  of  God  to  matter  up  to 
this  point.  He  is  immanent  therein  and  perpetually 
active.  Now  to  go  further,  if  this  be  true,  it  would 
seem  that  the  various  objects  and  things  in  nature 
were  fitted  to  express  and  reveal  different  degrees  and 
measures  of  the  divine  influence,  so  to  say;  that  this 
degree  of  manifestation  in  each  depends  on  the  capacity 
which  God  has  primarily  bestowed  upon  it;*  that  the 
material  but  inorganic,  the  vegetable  but  inanimate, 
and  the  animal  but  irrational  world,  received  each  as 
high  a  mode  of  divine  influence  as  its  several  nature 
would  allow. 

Then,  to  sum  up  all  in  brief,  the  material  world 
with  its  objects  sublimely  great,  or  meanly  little,  as 
we  judge  them ;  its  atoms  of  dust,  its  orbs  of  fire ;  the 
rock  that  stands  by  the  sea-shore,  the  water  that  wears 
it  away;  the  worm,  a  birth  of  yesterday,  which  we 
trample  underfoot;  the  streets  of  constellations  that 
gleam  perennial  overhead;  the  aspiring  palm  tree 
fixed  to  one  spot,  and  the  lions  that  are  sent  out  free, 
these  incarnate  and  make  visible  all  of  God  their  sev- 
eral natures  will  admit.  If  man  were  not  spiritual  and 
could  yet  conceive  of  the  aggregate  of  invisible  things, 
he  might  call  it  God,  for  he  could  go  no  further. 

Now,  as  God  is  infinite,  imperfection  is  not  to  be 

is  Atheism  to  suppose;  or,  9.  There  is  in  nature  a  formative 
faculty  ''a  plastic  nature,"  which  does  the  work;  or,  3.  Each 
act  is  done  immediately  by  God.  He,  it  is  well  known,  adopts 
the  second  alternative.  See  chap.  III.  §  37.  See  also  More's 
Enchiridion  Metaphysicum ;  Antidote  against  Atheism,  Book 
II.;  Apol.  pro  Cartesio,  p.  115,  et  seq.  On  the  Transcendency 
of  God,  see  Descartes,  Princip.  P.  I.  No.  21,  et  al.  Leibnitz, 
Th6od.  No.  385,  et  al. 

*  I  will  not  say  there  is  not,  in  the  abstract,  as  much  of  divine 
influence  in  a  wheat-straw  as  in  a  world.  But  in  reference  to 
ourselves  there  appear  to  be  various  degrees  of  it. 


INSPIRATION  155 

spoken  of  him.  His  will  therefore  —  if  we  may  so 
use  that  term  —  is  always  the  same.  As  nature  has 
of  itself  no  power,  and  God  is  present  and  active 
therein,  it  must  obey  and  represent  his  unalterable  will. 
Hence,  seeing  the  uniformity  of  operation,  that  things 
preserve  their  identity,  we  say  they  are  governed  by  a 
law  that  never  changes.  It  is  so.  But  this  law  — 
what  is  it  but  the  will  of  God;  a  mode  of  divine  ac- 
tion? It  is  this  in  the  last  analysis.  The  apparent 
secondary  causes  do  not  prevent  this  conclusion. 

The  things  of  nature,  having  no  will  obey  this  law 
from  necessity.*  They  thus  reflect  God's  image  and 
make  real  his  conception  —  if  we  may  use  such  lan- 
guage with  this  application.  They  are  tools,  not  ar- 
tists. We  never  in  nature  see  the  smallest  departure 
from  nature's  law.  The  granite,  the  grass,  keep  their 
law ;  none  go  astray  from  the  flock  of  stars ;  fire  does 
not  refuse  to  burn,  nor  water  to  be  wet.  We  look 
backwards  and  forwards,  but  the  same  law  records 
everywhere  the  obedience  that  is  paid  it.  Our  confi- 
dence in  the  uniformity  of  nature's  law  is  complete, 
in  other  words,  in  the  fact  that  God  is  always  the 
same;  his  modes  of  action  always  the  same.  This  is 
true  of  the  inorganic,  the  vegetable,  the  animal  world. f 
Each  thing  keeps  its  law  with  no  attempt  at  violation 

*  I  use  the  term  obedience  figuratively.  Of  course  there  is  no 
real  obedience  without  power  to  disobey. 

t  M.  Leroux,  an  acute  and  brilliant  but  fanciful  writer,  thinks 
the  capabilities  of  man  change  by  civilization,  and,  which  is  to 
the  present  point,  that  the  animals  advance  also;  that  the  bee 
and  the  beaver  are  on  the  march  towards  perfection,  and  have 
made  some  progress  already.  However  he  may  make  out  the 
case  metaphysically,  it  would  be  puzzling  to  settle  the  matter  by 
facts.  But  if  his  hypothesis  were  admissible,  it  would  not  mili- 
tate with  the  doctrine  in  the  text. 


156  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

of  it.*  From  this  obedience  comes  the  regularity  and 
order  apparent  in  nature.  Obeying  the  law  of  God, 
his  omnipotence  is  on  its  side.  To  oppose  a  law  of  na- 
ture, therefore,  is  to  oppose  the  deity.  It  is  sure  to 
redress   itself. 

But  these  created  things  have  no  consciousness,  so 
far  as  we  know,  at  least  nothing  which  is  the  same  with 
our  self -consciousness.  They  have  no  moral  will;  no 
power  in  general  to  do  otherwise  than  as  they  do. 
Their  action  is  not  the  result  of  forethought,  reflection, 
judgment,  voluntary  obedience  to  an  acknowledged 
law.  No  one  supposes  the  bison,  the  rosebush,  and 
the  moon,  reflect  in  themselves ;  make  up  their  mind 
and  say,  "  Go  to,  now,  let  us  bring  up  our  young,  or 
put  forth  our  blossoms,  or  give  light  at  nightfall,  be- 
cause it  is  right  to  do  so,  and  God's  law."  Their  obe- 
dience is  unavoidable.  They  do  what  they  cannot  help 
doing.f  Their  obedience,  therefore,  is  not  their  merit, 
but  their  necessity.  It  is  power  they  passively  yield  to ; 
not  a  duty  they  voluntarily  and  consciously  perform. 
All  the  action,  therefore,  of  the  material,  inorganic, 
vegetable,  and  animal  world  is  mechanical,  vital,  or,  at 
the  utmost,  instinctive ;  not  self-conscious,  the  result  of 
private  will. J     There  is,  therefore,  no  room  for  caprice 

*  From  this  view  it  does  not  follow  that  animals  are  mere 
machines,  with  no  consciousness,  only  that  they  have  not  freewill. 
However,  in  some  of  the  superior  animals  tiiere  is  some  small 
degree  of  freedom  apparent.  The  dog  and  the  elephant  seem 
sometimes  to  exercise  a  mind,  and  to  become  in  some  measure 
emancipated,  from  their  instincts.  On  this  curious  question,  see 
Descartes,  Epist.  P.  I.  Ep.  27,  67.  Henry  More,  Epist.  ad  Car- 
tesium. 

t  This  point  has  been  happily  touched  upon  by  Hooker,  Eccles. 
Polity,  Book  I.  chap.  III.  §  2.  See  his  curious  reflections  in  the 
following  sections. 

1 1  have  not  the  presumption  to  attempt  to  draw  a  line  be- 
tween these  three  departments  of  Nature,  nor  to  tell  what  is 


INSPIRATION  157 

in  this  department.  The  crystal  must  form  itself  after 
a  prescribed  pattern;  the  leaf  assume  a  given  shape; 
the  bee  build  her  cell  with  six  angles.  The  mantle  of 
destiny  is  girt  about  these  things.  To  study  the  laws 
of  nature,  therefore,  is  to  study  the  modes  of  God's 
action.  Science  becomes  sacred,  and  passes  into  a  sort 
of  devotion.  Well  says  the  old  sage,  "  Geometry  is 
the  praise  of  God."  It  reveals  the  perfections  of  the 
divine  mind,  for  God  manifests  himself  in  every  object 
of  science,  in  the  half -living  molecules  of  powdered- 
wood;  in  the  comet  with  its  orbit  which  imagination 
cannot  surround;  in  the  cones  and  cycloids  of  the 
mathematician,  that  exist  nowhere  in  the  world  of 
concrete  things,  but  which  the  conscious  mind  carries 
thither. 

Since  all  these  objects  represent,  more  or  less,  the 
divine  mind,  and  are  in  perfect  harmony  with  it,  and  so 

the  essence  of  mechanical,  vital,  or  instinctive  action.  I  would 
only  indicate  a  distinction  that,  to  my  mind,  is  very  plain.  But 
I  cannot  pretend  to  say  where  one  ends  and  the  other  begins. 
Again,  it  may  seem  unphilosophical  to  deny  consciousness,  or 
even  self-consciousness  to  the  superior  animals;  but  if  they  pos- 
sess a  self -consciousness,  it  is  something  apparently  so  remote 
from  ours,  that  it  only  leads  to  a  confusion  if  both  are  called 
by  the  same  term.  The  functions  of  a  plant  we  cannot  ex- 
plain by  the  laws  of  mechanical  action;  nor  the  function  of  an 
animal,  a  dog  for  example,  by  any  qualities  of  body.  On  this 
subject  see  Whewell,  Hist.  Inductive  Sciences,  Book  IX.  chap. 
I.-III.  Cudworth,  chap.  Ill,  §  37,  No.  17,  et  seq.,  has  shown  that 
there  may  be  sentient,  and  not  mere  mechanical  life,  without  con- 
sciousness, and  therefore  without  freewill.  Is  not  this  near  the 
truth,  the  God  alone  is  absolutely  free,  and  man  has  a  relative 
freedom,  the  degree  of  which  may  be  constantly  increased? 
Taking  a  certain  stand-point,  it  is  true,  freedom  and  necessity 
are  the  same  thing,  and  may  be  predicated  or  denied  of  Deity 
indifferently,  thus  if  God  is  perfect,  all  his  action  is  perfect. 
He  can  do  no  otherwise  than  as  he  does.  Perfection  therefore 
is  his  necessity,  but  it  is  his  freedom  none  the  less.  Here  the 
difference  is  merely  in  words. 


158         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

always  at  one  with  God,  they  express,  it  may  be,  all  of 
deity  which  matter  in  these  three  modes  can  contain, 
and  thus  exhibit  all  of  God  that  can  be  made  manifest 
to  the  eye,  the  ear,  and  the  other  senses  of  man.  Since 
these  things  are  so,  nature  is  not  only  strong  and 
beautiful,  but  has  likewise  a  religious  aspect.  This  fact 
was  noticed  in  the  very  earliest  times;  appears  in  the 
rudest  worship,  which  is  an  adoration  of  God  in  na- 
ture. It  will  move  man's  heart  to  the  latest  day,  and 
exert  an  influence  on  souls  that  are  deepest  and  most 
holy.  Who  that  looks  on  the  ocean,  in  its  anger  or  its 
play;  who  that  walks  at  twilight  under  a  mountain's 
brow,  listens  to  the  sighing  of  the  pines,  touched  by 
the  indolent  wind  of  summer,  and  hears  the  light  tinkle 
of  the  brook,  murmuring  its  quiet  tune, —  who  is  there 
but  feels  the  deep  religion  of  the  scene?  In  the  heart 
of  a  city  we  are  called  away  from  God.  The  dust  of 
man's  foot,  and  the  sooty  print  of  his  fingers  are  on  all 
we  see.  The  very  earth  is  unnatural,  and  the  heaven 
scarce  seen.  In  a  crowd  of  busy  men  which  set 
through  its  streets,  or  flow  together  of  an  holiday;  in 
the  dust  and  jar,  the  bustle  and  strife  of  business,  there 
is  little  to  remind  us  of  God.  Men  must  build  a  cathe- 
dral for  that.  But  everywhere  in  nature,  we  are  carried 
straightway  back  to  him.  The  fern,  green  and  grow- 
ing amid  the  frost;  each  little  grass  and  lichen  is  a 
silent  memento.  The  first  bird  of  spring,  and  the  last 
rose  of  summer;  the  grandeur  or  the  dulness  of  even- 
ing and  morning;  the  rain,  the  dew,  the  sunshine;  the 
stars  that  come  out  to  watch  over  the  farmer's  rising 
corn;  the  birds  that  nestle  contentedly,  brooding  over 
their  young,  quietly  tending  the  little  strugglers  with 
their  beak, —  all  these  have  a  religious  significance  to  a 
thinking  soul.     Every  violet  blooms  of  God,  each  lilj^ 


INSPIRATION  169 

is  fragrant  with  the  presence  of  deJty.  The  awful 
scenes  of  storm  and  hghtning  and  thunder,  seem  but 
the  sterner  sounds  of  the  great  concert,  wherewith  God 
speaks  to  man.  Is  this  an  accident?  Ay,  earth  is 
full  of  such  "  accidents."  When  the  seer  rests  from 
religious  thought,  or  when  the  world's  temptations 
make  his  soul  tremble,  and  though  the  spirit  be  willing 
the  flesh  is  weak;  when  the  perishable  body  weighs 
down  the  mind,  musing  on  many  things;  when  he 
wishes  to  draw  near  to  God,  he  goes,  not  to  the  city  — 
there  conscious  men  obstruct  him  with  their  works  — 
but  to  the  meadow,  spangled  all  over  with  flowers,  and 
sung  to  by  every  bird ;  to  the  mountain,  "  visited  all 
night  by  troops  of  stars ;"  to  the  ocean,  the  undying 
type  of  shifting  phenomena  and  unchanging  law;  to 
the  forest,  stretching  out  motherly  arms,  with  its 
mighty  growth  and  awful  shade,  and  there  in  the  obe- 
dience these  things  pay,  in  their  order,  strength, 
beauty,  he  is  encountered  front  to  front,  with  the  aw- 
ful presence  of  almighty  power.  A  voice  cries  to  him 
from  the  thicket,  "  God  will  provide."  The  bushes 
bum  with  deity.  Angels  minister  to  him.  There  is 
no  mortal  pang,  but  it  is  allayed  by  God's  fair  voice  as 
it  whispers  in  nature,  still  and  small,  it  may  be,  but 
moving  on  the  face  of  the  deep,  and  bringing  light  out 
of  darkness. 

"  Oh  joy  that  in  our  embers, 
Is  something  that  doth  live. 
That  Nature  yet  remembers 
What  was  so  fugitive." 

Now  to  sum  up  the  result.  It  seems  from  the  very 
idea  of  God  that  he  must  be  infinitely  present  in  each 
point  of  space.  This  immanence  of  God  in  matter  is 
the  basis  of  his  influence ;  this  is  modified  by  the  ca- 


160  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

pacities  of  the  object  in  nature;  all  of  its  action  is 
God's  action;  its  laws  modes  of  that  action.  The  im- 
position of  a  law  then,  which  is  perfect,  and  is  also 
perfectly  obeyed,  though  blindly  and  without  self -con- 
sciousness, seems  to  be  the  measure  of  God's  relation  to 
matter.  Its  action  therefore  is  only  mechanical,  vital, 
or  instinctive,  not  voluntary  and  self-conscious.  From 
the  nature  of  these  things,  it  must  be  so. 


CHAPTER  III 

STATEMENT  OF  THE  ANALOGY  DRAWN 
FROM  GOD'S  RELATION  TO  NATURE 

Now  if  God  be  present  in  matter,  the  analogy  is 
that  he  is  also  present  in  man.  But  to  examine  this 
point  more  closely,  let  us  set  out  as  before  from  the 
idea  of  God.  If  he  have  not  the  limitations  of  matter, 
but  is  infinite,  as  the  idea  declares,  then  he  pervades 
spirit  as  well  as  space;  is  in  man  as  well  as  out  of 
him.  If  it  follows  from  the  idea  that  he  is  immanent 
in  the  material  world  —  in  a  moss ;  it  follows  also  that 
he  must  be  immanent  in  the  spiritual  world  —  in  a 
man.  If  he  is  immanently  active,  and  thus  totally  and 
essentially  present,  in  each  comer  of  space,  and  each 
atom  of  creation,  then  is  he  as  universally  present  in 
all  spirit.  If  the  reverse  be  true,  then  he  is  not  omni- 
present, therefore  not  infinite,  and  of  course  not  God. 
The  infinite  God  must  fill  each  point  of  spirit  as  of 
space.  Here  then  in  God's  presence  in  the  soul,  is 
a  basis  laid  for  his  direct  influence  on  men ;  as  his 
presence  in  nature  is  the  basis  of  his  direct  influence 
there. 

As  in  nature  his  influence  was  modified  only  by  the 
capacities  of  material  things,  so  here  must  it  be  modi- 
fied only  by  the  capabilities  of  spiritual  things;  there 
it  assumed  the  forms  of  mechanical,  vital,  and  instinc- 
tive action ;  here  it  must  ascend  to  the  form  of  volun- 
tary and  self-conscious  action.  This  conclusion  fol- 
lows undeniably  from  the  analogy  of  God's  presence 
and  activity  in  matter.  It  follows  as  necessarily  from 
the  idea  of  God,  for  as  he  is  the  materiality  of  matter, 
so  is  he  the  spirituality  of  spirit. 

m-u  161 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  GENERAL  RELATION  OF   SUPPLY  TO 
WANT 

We  find  in  nature  that  every  want  is  naturally  sup- 
plied. That  is,  there  is  something  external  to  each 
created  being  to  answer  all  the  internal  wants  of  that 
being.  This  conclusion  could  have  been  anticipated 
without  experience,  since  it  follows  from  the  perfec- 
tions of  the  deity,  that  all  his  direct  works  must  be 
perfect.  Experience  shows  this  is  the  rule  in  nature. 
We  never  find  a  race  of  animals  destitute  of  what  is 
most  needed  for  them,  wandering  up  and  down,  seek- 
ing rest  and  finding  none.  What  is  most  certainly 
needed  for  each  is  most  bountifully  provided.  The 
supply  answers  the  demand.  The  natural  circum- 
stances, therefore,  attending  a  race  of  animals,  for  ex- 
ample, are  perfect.  The  animal  keeps  perfectly  the 
law,  or  condition  of  its  nature.  The  result  of  these 
perfect  circumstances  on  the  one  hand,  and  perfect 
obedience  on  the  other,  is  this, —  each  animal  in  its 
natural  state,  attains  its  legitimate  end,  reaches  per- 
fection after  its  kind.  Thus  every  sparrow  in  a  flock 
is  perfect  in  the  qualities  of  a  sparrow,  at  least,  such 
is  the  general  rule ;  the  exceptions  to  it  are  so  rare  they 
only  seem  to  confirm  that  rule. 

Now  to  apply  this  general  maxim  to  the  special  case 
of  man.  We  are  mixed  beings,  spirits  wedded  to 
bodies.  Setting  aside  the  religious  nature  of  man  for 
the  moment,  and  for  the  present  purpose  distributing 
our  faculties  into  the  animal,  intellectual,  affectional, 

162 


INSPIRATION  163 

and  moral,  let  us  see  the  relation  between  our  fourfold 
wants  and  the  supply  thereof.  We  have  certain  an- 
imal wants,  such  as  the  desire  of  food,  shelter,  and 
comfort.  Our  animal  welfare,  even  our  animal  exist- 
ence, depends  on  the  relation  of  the  world  to  these 
wants,  on  the  condition  that  they  are  supplied.  Now 
we  find  in  the  world  of  nature,  exterior  to  ourselves,  a 
supply  for  these  demands.  It  is  so  placed  that  man 
can  reach  it  for  himself.  To  speak  in  general  terms, 
there  is  not  a  natural  want  in  our  body  which  has  not 
its  corresponding  supply,  placed  out  of  the  body. 
There  is  not  even  a  disease  of  the  body,  brought  upon 
us  by  disobedience  of  its  law,  but  there  is  somewhere  a 
remedy,  at  least  an  alleviation  of  that  disease.  The 
peculiar  supply  of  peculiar  wants  is  provided  most 
abundantly  when  most  needed,  and  where  most  needed ; 
furs  in  the  north,  spices  in  the  south,  antidotes  where 
the  poison  is  found.  God  is  a  bountiful  parent  and  no 
step-father  to  the  body,  and  does  not  pay  off,  to  his 
obedient  children,  a  penny  of  satisfaction  for  a  pound 
of  want.  Natural  supply  balances  natural  want  the 
world  over. 

But  this  is  not  all.  How  shall  man  find  the  supply, 
that  is  provided?  It  will  be  useless  unless  there  is 
some  faculty  to  mediate  between  it  and  the  want.  Now 
man  is  furnished  with  a  faculty  to  perform  his  office. 
It  is  instinct  which  we  have  in  common  with  the  lower 
animals,  and  understanding  which  we  have  more  ex- 
clusively, at  least  no  other  animal  possessing  it  in  the 
same  degree  with  ourselves.  Instinct  anticipates  ex- 
perience. It  acts  spontaneously  where  we  have  no  pre- 
vious knowledge,  yet  as  if  we  were  fully  possessed  of 
ideas*  It  shows  itself  as  soon  as  we  are  bom,  in  the 
impulse  that  prompts  the  infant  to  his  natural  food. 


164  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

It  appears  complete  in  all  animals.  It  looks  only  for- 
ward, and  is  a  perfect  guide  so  far  as  it  goes.  The 
young  chick  pecks  adroitly  at  the  tiny  worm  it  meets  the 
first  hour  it  leaves  the  shell.*  It  needs  no  instruction. 
The  lower  animals  have  nothing  but  instinct  for  their 
guide.  It  is  sufficient  for  their  purpose.  They  act, 
therefore,  without  reflection;  from  necessity,  and  are 
subordinate  to  their  instinct,  and  therefore  must  always 
remain  in  the  instinctive  state.f  Children  and  savages 
—  who  are  in  some  respects  the  children  of  the  human 
race  —  act  chiefly  by  instinct,  but  constantly  approach 
the  development  of  the  understanding. 

This  acts  in  a  diff^erent  way.  It  generalizes  from  ex- 
perience ;  makes  an  induction  from  facts ;  a  deduction 
from  principles.  It  looks  both  backwards  and  forwards. 
The  man  of  understanding  acts  from  experience,  reflec- 
tion, forethought  and  habit.  If  he  had  no  other  impel- 
ling principle,  all  his  action  must  be  of  this  character. 
But  though  understanding  be  capable  of  indefinite  in- 
crease, instinct  can  never  be  wholly  extirpated  from 
this  compound  being,  man.  The  most  artificial  or  cul- 
tivated feels  the  twinges  of  instinctive  nature.  The 
lower  animals  rely  entirely  on  instinct;  the  savage 
chiefly  thereon,  while  the  civilized  and  matured  man 
depends  mostly  on  understanding  for  his  guide.  As  the 
sphere  of  action  enlarges,  which  takes  place  as  the  boy 
outgrows  his  childhood,  and  the  savage  emerges  from 

*  See  Lord  Brougham,  Dialogues  on  instinct,  for  some  remark- 
able facts. 

tWhewell,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  Pt.  I.  Book  IX.  Ch.  III.  Man 
may  subdue  the  instinct  of  an  animal,  and  apparently  improve 
the  creature,  by  superintending  his  own  understanding  upon  it. 
The  pliant  nature  of  dogs  and  horses  enables  them  to  yield  to 
him  in  this  case.  But  they  are  not  really  improved  in  the 
qualities  of  a  dog  or  a  horse,  but  only  become  caricatures  of 
their  master's  caprice. 


INSPIRATION  165 

barbarism,  instinct  ceases  to  be  an  adequate  guide,  and 
the  understanding  spontaneously  develops  itself  to  take 
its  place.* 

In  respect,  then,  to  man's  animal  nature,  this  fact  re- 
mains, that  there  is  an  external  supply  for  each  internal 
want,  and  a  guide  to  conduct  from  the  want  to  the  sup- 
ply. This  guide  is  adequate  to  the  purpose.  When  it 
is  followed,  and  thus  the  conditions  of  our  animal  na- 
ture complied  with,  the  want  is  satisfied,  becomes  a 
source  of  pleasure,  a  means  of  development.  In  this 
case  there  is  nothing  miraculous  intervening  between 
the  desire  and  its  gratification.  Man  is  hungry.  In- 
stinct leads  him  to  the  ripened  fruit.  He  eats  and  is 
appeased.  The  satisfaction  of  the  want  comes  natu- 
rally, by  a  regular  law,  which  God  has  imposed  upon 
the  constitution  of  man.  He  is  blessed  by  obeying, 
and  cursed  by  violating  this  law.  God  himself  does 
not  transcend  this  law,  but  acts  through  it,  by  it,  in  it. 
We  observe  the  law  and  obtain  what  we  need.  Thus 
for  every  point  of  natural  desire  in  the  body,  there  is 
a  point  of  natural  satisfaction  out  of  the  body.  This 
guide  conducts,  from  one  to  the  other,  as  a  radius  con- 
nects the  centre  with  the  circumference.  Our  animal 
welfare  is  complete  when  the  two  are  thus  brought  into 
contact. 

Now  the  same  rule  may  be  shown  to  hold  good  in 
each  other  department  into  which  we  have  divided  the 
human  faculties.  There  is  something  without  us  to 
correspond  to  each  want  of  the  intellect.  This  is  found 
in  the  objects  of  nature;  in  the  sublime,  the  useful,  the 
beautiful,  the  common  things  we  meet;  in  the  ideas 

*  See  some  profound  remarks  on  the  force  of  the  instinctive 
life  among  savages,  Bancroft,  ubi  sup.  Ch.  XXII. 


166  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

and  conceptions  that  arise  unavoidably  when  man,  the 
thinking  subject,  comes  intellectually  in  contact  with 
external  things,  the  object  of  thought.  We  turn  to 
these  things  instinctively,  at  first, 

"The  eye, —  it  cannot  choose  but  see. 
We  cannot  bid  the  ear  be  still; 
Our  bodies  feel  wher'er  they  be. 
Against  or  with  our  will. 

Man  is  not  sufficient  for  himself  intellectually,  more 
than  physically.  He  cannot  rely  wholly  on  what  he  is. 
There  is  at  first  nothing  in  man  but  man  himself;  a 
being  of  multiform  tendencies,  and  many  powers  lying 
latent  —  germ  sheathed  in  germ.  Without  some  exter- 
nal object  to  rouse  the  senses,  excite  curiosity,  to  stimu- 
late the  understanding,  induce  reflection,  exercise  rea- 
son, judgment,  imagination, —  all  these  faculties  would 
sleep  in  their  causes,  unused  and  worthless  in  the  soul. 
Obeying  the  instinctive  tendency  of  the  mind,  which 
impels  to  thought,  keeping  its  laws,  we  gain  satisfaction 
for  the  intellectual  desires.  One  after  another  the  fac- 
ulties come  into  action,  grow  up  to  maturity,  and  intel- 
lectual welfare  is  complete  with  no  miracle,  but  by  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  of  mind. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  aff^ectional  and  moral 
nature  of  man.  There  is  something  without  us  to  an- 
swer the  demands  of  the  affections  and  the  moral  sense, 
and  we  turn  instinctively  to  them.  Does  God  provide 
for  the  animal  wants  and  no  more.^^  He  is  no  step- 
father, but  a  bountiful  parent  to  the  intellectual,  af- 
fectional,  and  moral  elements  of  his  child.  There  is 
a  point  of  satisfaction  out  of  these,  for  each  point  of 
desire  in  them,  and  a  guide  to  mediate  between  the 
two.  This  general  rule  may  then  be  laid  down.  That 
for  each  animal,  intellectual,  affectional,  moral  want  of 


INSPIRATION  167 

man,  there  is  a  supply  set  within  his  reach,  and  a  guide 
to  connect  the  two ;  that  no  miracle  is  needed  to  supply 
the  want ;  but  satisfaction  is  given  soon  as  the  guide  is 
followed  and  the  law  kept,  which  instinct  or  the  under- 
standing reveals. 


CHAPTER  V 

STATEMENT  OF  THE  ANALOGY  FROM  THIS 
RELATION 

Now  it  was  said  before,  that  the  religious  was  the 
deepest,  highest,  strongest  element  in  man,  and  since 
the  wants  of  the  lower  faculties  are  so  abundantly  pro- 
vided with  natural  means  of  satisfying  them,  the  anal- 
ogy leads  us  irresistibly  to  conclude,  that  the  higher  fac- 
ulty would  not  be  neglected ;  that  here  as  elsewhere  there 
must  be  a  natural  and  not  miraculous  supply  for  nat- 
ural wants ;  a  natural  guide  to  conduct  from  one  to  the 
other,  and  natural  laws,  or  conditions  to  be  observed, 
and  natural  satisfaction  to  be  obtained  in  this  way ;  that 
as  God  was  no  step-father,  but  a  bountiful  parent  to 
the  lower  elements,  so  he  must  be  to  the  higher;  that 
as  there  was  a  point  of  satisfaction  out  of  the  body, 
mind,  and  heart,  for  each  desire  in  it,  so  there  must  be 
a  point  of  satisfaction  out  of  the  soul,  for  each  desire  in 
the  soul.  Is  it  God's  way  to  take  care  of  oxen  and 
leave  men  uncared  for?  In  a  system  where  every  spot 
on  an  insect's  wing  is  rounded  as  diligently,  and  as 
carefully  finished  off  as  a  world,  are  we  to  suppose  the 
soul  of  man  is  left  without  natural  protection?  If 
there  is  a  law,  a  permanent  mode  of  divine  action, 
whereby  each  atom  of  dust  keeps  its  place  and  holds 
its  own,  surely  we  are  not  to  dream  the  soul  of  man 
is  left  with  no  law  for  its  religious  life  and  satisfac- 
tion. 

To  draw  the  parallels  still  closer.  By  the  religious 
consciousness  we  feel  the  want  of  some  assured  sup- 

168 


INSPIRATION  169 

port  to  depend  on,  who  has  infinite  power  to  sustain 
us,  infinite  wisdom  to  provide  for  us,  infinite  goodness 
to  cherish  us ;  as  we  must  know  the  will  of  him  on 
whom  we  depend,  and  thus  determine  what  is  religious 
truth  and  religious  duty,  in  order  that  we  may  do  that 
duty,  receive  that  truth,  obey  that  will,  and  thus  obtain 
rest  for  the  soul,  and  the  highest  spiritual  welfare,  by 
knowing  and  fulfilling  its  conditions,  so  analogy  teaches 
that  in  this,  as  in  the  other  case,  there  must  be  a  supply 
for  the  wants,  and  some  plain,  regular,  and  not  miracu- 
lous means,  accessible  to  each  man,  whereby  he  can  get 
a  knowledge  of  this  support,  discover  this  will,  and  thus, 
by  observing  the  proper  conditions,  obtain  the  highest 
spiritual  welfare. 

This  argument  for  a  direct  connection  between  man 
and  God,  is  only  rebutted  in  one  of  these  two  ways: 
either,  first,  by  denying  that  man  has  any  religious 
wants;  or  secondly,  by  affirming  that  he  is  himself 
alone  a  supply  to  them,  without  need  of  reliance  on 
any  thing  independent  of  himself.  The  last  is  contrary 
to  philosophy,  for,  theoretically  speaking,  by  nature, 
there  is  nothing  in  man,  but  man  himself,  his  tenden- 
cies and  powers  of  action  and  reception ;  in  the  religious 
element  there  is  nothing  but  the  religious  element,  as, 
theoretically  speaking,  by  nature,  there  is  in  the  body 
nothing  but  the  body ;  in  hunger  nothing  but  hunger. 
To  make  man  dependent  on  nothing  but  man;  the 
religious  element  on  nothing  but  the  religious  element, 
and  therefore  sufficient  for  itself,  is  quite  as  absurd  as 
to  make  the  body  dependent  only  on  the  body;  the 
appetite  of  hunger  on  nothing  but  hunger,  sufficient  to 
satisfy  itself.  Besides,  our  consciousness,  and  above 
all  our  religious  consciousness,  is  that  of  dependence. 
The  soul  feels  its  direct  dependence  on  God,  as  much 


170  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

as  the  body  sees  its  own  direct  dependence  on  matter. 
If  the  one  statement  is  contrary  to  philosophy,  the 
other  is  contrary  to  fact.  We  feel  religious  wants; 
the  history  of  man  is  a  perpetual  expression  of  these 
wants ;  an  effort  for  satisfaction.  It  cannot  be  denied 
that  we  need  something  that  shall  bear  the  same  rela- 
tion to  the  religious  element  which  food  bears  to  the 
palate,  light  to  the  eye,  sound  to  the  ear,  beauty  to  the 
imagination,  truth  to  the  understanding,  friendship  to 
the  heart,  and  duty  to  conscience.  How  shall  we  pass 
from  the  want  to  its  satisfaction?  Now  the  force  of 
the  analogy  is  this  —  it  leads  us  to  expect  such  a 
natural  satisfaction  for  spiritual  wants,  as  we  have  for 
the  humbler  wants.  The  very  wants  themselves  imply 
the  satisfaction;  soon  as  we  begin  to  act,  there  awakes 
by  nature  a  sentiment  of  God.  Reason  gives  us  a 
distinct  idea  of  him,  and  from  this  idea  also  it  follows 
that  he  must  supply  these  wants. 

The  question  then  comes  as  to  the  fact:  Is  there, 
or  is  there  not,  a  regular  law,  that  is,  a  constant  mode 
of  operation,  by  which  the  religious  wants  are  supplied, 
as  by  a  regular  law  the  body's  wants  are  met.^^  Now 
animated  by  the  natural  trust,  or  faith,  which  is  the 
spontaneous  action  of  the  religious  element,  we  should 
say :  Yes,  it  must  be  so.  God  takes  care  of  the  spar- 
row's body;  can  he  neglect  man's  soul.'*  Then  reason- 
ing again  from  the  general  analogy  of  God's  provi- 
dence, as  before  shown,  and  still  more  from  the  idea 
of  God,  as  above  laid  down,  we  say  again :  It  must  be 
so.  Man  must,  through  the  religious  element,  have  a 
connection  with  God,  as  by  the  senses  with  matter. 
He  is,  relative  to  us,  the  object  of  the  soul,  as  much 
as  matter  is  the  object  of  the  senses.     As  God  has  an 


INSPIRATION  171 

influence  on  passive  and  unconscious  matter,  so  he  must 
have  on  active  and  conscious  man.  As  this  action  in 
the  one  case  is  only  modified  by  the  conditions  of  mat- 
ter, so  will  it  be  in  the  other,  only  by  the  conditions  of 
man.  As  no  obedient  animal  is  doomed  to  wander  up 
and  down,  seeking  rest,  but  finding  none;  so  no  obe- 
dient man  can  be  left  hopeless,  forlorn,  without  a  sup- 
ply, without  a  guide. 

Now  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  spontaneous 
presentiment  of  this  supply  for  our  spiritual  demands ; 
this  twofold  argument  from  the  idea  of  God  and  the 
analogy  of  his  action  in  general,  would  satisfy  both 
the  spontaneous  and  the  reflective  mind,  convincing 
them  of  man's  general  capability  of  a  connection  with 
God,  of  receiving  truth,  in  a  regular  and  natural  way 
from  him,  by  revelation,  inspiration,  suggestion,  or  by 
what  other  name  we  may  call  the  joint  action  of  the 
divine  and  human  mind.  Such  indeed  is  the  belief  of  na- 
tions in  an  early  and  simple  state.  It  is  attested  by 
the  literature,  traditions,  and  monuments  of  all  primitive 
people.  They  believed  that  God  held  converse  with 
men.  He  spoke  in  the  voices  of  nature ;  in  signs  and 
omens;  in  dreams  by  night;  in  deep,  silent  thoughts 
by  day ;  skill,  strength,  wisdom,  goodness,  were  referred 
to  him.  The  highest  function  of  men  was  God's  gift. 
He  made  the  laws  of  Minos,  Moses,  Numa,  Rhada- 
manthus ;  he  inspires  the  poet,  artist,  patriot ;  works 
with  the  righteous  everywhere.  Had  fetichism  no 
meaning?  Was  polytheism  only  a  lie  with  no  truth  at 
the  bottom?  Prayers,  sacrifices,  fasts,  priesthoods,  show 
that  men  believed  in  intercourse  with  God.  Good, 
simple-hearted  men  and  women,  who  live  lives  of  piety, 
believe  it  now,  and  never  dream  it  is  a  great  philo- 


172  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

sophical  truth,  which  lies  in  their  mind.  They  wonder 
anybody  should  doubt  it. 

But  yet  among  thinking  men,  who  have  thought  just 
enough  to  distrust  instinct,  but  not  enough  to  see  by 
the  understanding  the  object  which  instinct  discloses, 
especially  it  seems  among  thinking  Englishmen  and 
Americans,  a  general  doubt  prevails  on  this  point. 

The  material  world  is  before  our  eyes ;  its  phenomena 
are  obvious  to  the  senses,  and  most  men  having  active 
senses  —  which  develop  before  the  understanding  — 
and  the  lower  faculties  of  intellect  also,  somewhat  ac- 
tive, get  pretty  clear  notions  about  these  phenomena, 
though  not  of  their  cause  and  philosophy.  But  as  the 
soul  is  rarely  so  active  as  the  senses;  as  the  whole 
spiritual  nature  is  not  often  so  well  developed  as  the 
sensual,  so  spiritual  phenomena  are  little  noticed ;  very 
few  men  have  clear  notions  about  them.  Hence  to 
many  men  all  spiritual  and  religious  matters  are  vague. 
"  Perhaps  yes  and  perhaps  no,"  is  all  they  can  say. 

Then  again  the  matter  is  made  worse,  for  they  hear 
extravagant  claims  made  in  relation  to  spiritual  things 
and  intercourse  with  God.  One  man  says,  he  was 
healed  of  a  fever,  or  saved  from  drowning,  not  by  the 
medicine,  or  the  boatman,  but  by  the  direct  interposi- 
tion of  God ;  another  will  have  it  that  he  has  direct  and 
miraculous  illuminations,  though  it  is  plain  he  is  still 
sitting  in  darkness.  This  bigot  would  destroy  all  hu- 
man knowledge  that  there  may  be  clean  paper  to  re- 
ceive the  divine  word,  miraculously  written  thereon; 
that  fanatic  bids  men  trust  the  doctrine  which  is  re- 
puted of  miraculous  origin  and  even  at  variance  with 
human  faculties.  Both  the  bigot  and  the  fanatic  con- 
demn science  as  the  "  Pride  of  Reason,"  and  talk 
boastingly  of  their  special  revelations,  their  new  light, 


INSPIRATION  173 

the  signs  and  wonders  they  have  seen  hr  heard  of  to 
attest  this  revelation.  The  sincere  man  of  good  sense 
is  disgusted  by  these  things,  and  asks  if  there  be  no 
pride  of  folly  as  well  as  reason,  and  no  revelation  of 
nonsense  from  the  man's  own  brain,  which  is  mistaken 
as  an  eternal  truth  coming  winged  from  the  godhead? 
He  rests,  therefore,  in  his  notions  of  mere  material 
things ;  will  see  nothing  which  he  cannot  see  through ; 
believe  nothing  he  cannot  handle.  These  material  no- 
tions have  already  become  systematized;  and  so  far 
as  there  is  any  philosophy  commonly  accredited 
amongst  us,  it  is  one  which  grows  mainly  out  of  this 
sensual  way  of  looking  at  things ;  a  philosophy  which 
logically  denies  the  possibility  of  inspiration,  or  inter- 
course with  God,  except  through  a  miracle  that  shall 
transcend  the  faculties  of  man. 

Now  on  this  subject  of  inspiration  there  are  but  three 
views  possible.  Each  of  these  is  supported  by  no 
one  writer  exclusively  or  perfectly,  but  by  many  taken 
in  the  aggregate.  Let  us  examine  each  of  them  as  it 
appears  in  recent  times,  with  its  philosophy  and  logical 
consequences.  However,  it  is  to  be  remembered  that 
all  conclusions  which  follow  logically,  are  not  to  be 
charged  on  men  who  admit  the  premises. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  RATIONALISTIC  VIEW,  OR  NATURAL- 
ISM 

This  allows  that  the  original  powers  of  nature,  as 
shown  in  the  inorganic,  the  vegetable,  and  the  animal 
world,  all  came  from  God  at  the  first,  that  he  is  a  prin- 
ciple, either  material  or  spiritual,  separate  from  the 
world,  and  independent  thereof.  He  made  the  world, 
and  all  things,  including  man,  and  stamped  on  them 
certain  laws,  which  they  are  to  keep.*  He  was  but 
transiently  present  and  active  in  nature  at  creation;  is 
not  immanently  present  and  active  therein.  He  has 
now,  nothing  to  do  with  the  world  but  —  to  see  it  go. 
Here,  then,  is  God  on  the  one  side;  on  the  other,  man 
and  nature.  But  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed  between 
them,  over  which  there  passes,  neither  God  nor  man. 

This  theory  teaches  that  man,  in  addition  to  his 
organs  of  perception,  has  certain  intellectual  faculties 
by  which  he  can  reason  from  effect  to  cause;  can  dis- 
cover truth,  which  is  the  statement  of  a  fact;  from  a 
number  of  facts  in  science  can  discern  a  scientific  law, 
the  relation  of  thing  to  thing ;  from  a  number  of  facts 
in  morals,  can  learn  the  relation  of  man  to  man,  deduce 
a  moral  law,  which  shall  teach  the  most  expedient 
and  profitable  way   of  managing  affairs.     Its  state- 

*  There  is  another  form  of  Naturalism  which  denies  the  ex- 
istence of  a  God  separate,  or  separable  from  the  universe.  Since 
this  system  would  annihilate  all  Religion,  it  may  be  called 
irreligious  Naturalism;  with  that  I  have  now  nothing  to  do. 
Some  have  been  called  Rationalists,  who  deny  that  God  is  sepa- 
rate from  the  world.     See  above.  Book  I. 

174 


INSPIRATION  176 

ment  of  both  scientific  and  moral  fact«  rests  solely 
on  experience,  and  never  goes  beyond  the  precedents. 
Still  further,  it  allows  that  men  can  find  out  there  is  a 
God,  by  reasoning  experimentally  from  observations  in 
the  material  world,  and  metaphysically  also,  from  the 
connection  of  notions  in  the  mind.  But  this  conclusion 
is  only  to  be  reached,  in  either  case,  by  a  process  that  is 
long,  complicated,  tortuous,  and  so  diflScult  that  but 
one  man  in  some  thousands  has  the  necessary  experi- 
mental knowledge,  and  but  one  in  some  millions,  the 
metaphysical  subtlety  requisite  to  go  through  it,  and 
become  certain  that  there  is  a  God.  Its  notion  of  God 
is  this  —  a  being  who  exists  as  the  power,  mind,  and 
will  that  caused  the  universe.* 

The  metaphysical  philosophy  of  this  system  may  be 
briefly  stated.  In  man,  by  nature,  there  is  nothing  but 
man;  there  is  but  one  channel  by  which  knowledge 
can  come  into  man,  that  is  sensation;  perception 
through  the  senses.  That  is  an  assumption,  nobody 
pretends  it  is  proved.  This  knowledge  is  modified  by 
reflection  —  the  mind's  process  of  ruminating  upon  the 
knowledge  which  sensation  aff*ords.  At  any  given  time, 
therefore,  if  we  examine  what  is  in  man,  we  find  noth- 
ing which  has  not  first  been  in  the  senses.  Now  the 
senses  converse  only  with  finite  phenomena.  Reflection 
—  what  can  it  get  out  of  these.''  The  absolute?  The 
premise  does  not  warrant  the  conclusion.  Something 
"  as  good  as  infinite  ?  "  Let  us  see.  It  makes  a  scien- 
tific law  a  mere  generahzation  from  observed  facts 
which  it  can  never  go  beyond.  Its  science,  therefore,  is 
in  the  rear  of  observation;  we  do  not  know  thereby 

*  Dr.  Dewey,  writing  in  the  Christian  Examiner,  says  the 
proposition  that  there  is  a  God  ^Hs  not  a  certainty."  See  Ex- 
aminer  for  Sept.  1845,  p.  197,  et  seq. 


176  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

whether  the  next  stone  shall  fall  to  the  ground  or  from 
it.  All  it  can  say  of  the  universality  of  any  law  of 
science,  is  this,  "  So  far  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  so."  It 
cannot  pass  from  the  particular  to  the  universal.  It 
makes  a  moral  law  the  result  of  external  experience, 
merely  an  induction  from  moral  facts ;  not  the  affirma- 
tion of  man's  moral  nature  declaring  the  eternal  rule  of 
right.  It  learns  morality  by  seeing  what  plan  succeeds 
best  in  the  long  run.  Its  morality,  therefore,  is  selfish- 
ness verified  by  experiment.  A  man  in  a  new  case,  for 
which  he  can  find  no  precedents,  knows  not  what  to  do. 
He  is  never  certain  he  is  right  till  he  gets  the  reward. 
Its  moral  law  at  present,  like  the  statute  law,  is  the 
slowly  elaborated  product  of  centuries  of  experience.  It 
pretends  to  find  out  God,  as  a  law  in  science,  solely,  by 
reasoning  from  effect  to  cause ;  from  a  plan  to  the  de- 
signer. Then  on  what  does  a  man's  belief  in  God 
depend.''  On  man's  nature,  acting  spontaneously.''  No; 
for  there  is  nothing  in  man,  but  man,  and  nothing 
comes  in  but  sensations,  which  do  not  directly  give  us 
God.  It  depends  on  reflection,  argument,  that  process 
of  reasoning  mentioned  before.  Now  admitting  that 
sensation  affords  sufficient  premise  for  the  conclusion, 
there  is  a  difficulty  in  the  way.  The  man  must  either 
depend  on  his  own  reasoning,  or  that  of  another.  In 
the  one  case  he  may  be  mistaken,  in  an  argument,  so 
long,  crooked,  and  difficult.  It  is  at  best  an  inference. 
The  "  Hypothesis  of  a  God,"  as  some  impiously  call  it 
—  may  thus  rest  on  no  better  argument  than  the  hy- 
pothesis of  Vortices,  or  Epicycles.  In  the  other  case,  if 
we  trust  another  man,  he  may  be  mistaken ;  still  worse, 
may  design  to  deceive  the  inquirer,  as,  we  are  told,  the 
heathen  sages  did.  Where,  then,  is  the  certain  con- 
viction of  any  God  at  all.?     This  theory  allows  none. 


INSPIRATION  17T 

Its  "  proof  of  the  existence  of  God  "  \s  a  proof  of  the 
possibility  of  a  God ;  perhaps  of  his  probabihty ;  surely 
no  more. 

But  the  case  is  yet  worse.  In  any  argumentation 
there  must  be  no  more  expressed  in  the  conclusion  than 
is  logically  and  confessedly  implied  in  the  premises. 
When  finite  phenomena  are  the  only  premises,  whence 
comes  the  idea  of  infinite  God.?  It  denies  that  man 
has  any  idea  of  the  absolute,  infinite,  perfect.  Instead 
of  this,  it  allows  only  an  accumulative  notion,  formed 
from  a  series  of  conceptions  of  what  is  finite  and  imper- 
fect. The  little  we  can  know  of  God  came  from  rea- 
soning about  objects  of  sense.  Its  notion  of  God  is  de- 
duced purely  from  empirical  observation;  what  notion 
of  a  God  can  rest  legitimately  on  that  basis.?  Nature 
is  finite.  To  infer  an  infinite  author  is  false  logic. 
We  see  but  in  part,  and  have  not  grasped  up  this  sum 
of  things,  nor  seen  how  seeming  evil  consists  with  real 
good,  nor  accounted  for  the  great  amount  of  misery, 
apparently  unliquidated,  in  the  world ;  therefore  nature 
is  imperfect  to  men's  eyes.  Why  infer  a  perfect  author 
from  an  imperfect  work.?  Injustice  and  cruelty  are 
allowed  in  the  world.  How  then  can  its  maker  be  re- 
lied on  as  just  and  merciful?  Let  there  be  nothing  in 
the  conclusion  which  is  not  in  the  premises. 

This  theory  gives  us  only  a  finite  and  imperfect  God, 
which  is  no  God  at  all.  He  cannot  be  trusted  out  of 
sight;  for  its  faith  is  only  an  inference  from  what  is 
seen.  Instead  of  a  religious  sentiment  in  man,  which 
craves  aU  the  perfections  of  the  godhead ;  reaches  out 
after  the  infinite  "  first  good,  first  perfect,  and  first 
fair,"  it  gives  us  only  a  tendency  to  reverence  or  fear 
what  is  superior  to  ourselves,  and  above  our  comprehen- 
sion; a  tendency  which  the  bat  and  the  owl  have  in 
111—12 


178  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

common  with  Socrates  and  Fenelon.  It  makes  a  man 
the  slave  of  his  organization.  Free-will  is  not  possible. 
His  highest  aim  is  self-preservation;  his  greatest  evil 
death.  It  denies  the  immortality  of  man,  and  foolishly 
asks  "  proofs  "  of  the  fact  —  meaning  proofs  palpable 
to  the  senses.  Its  finite  God  is  not  to  be  trusted,  except 
under  his  bond  and  covenant  to  give  us  what  we  ask 
for. 

It  makes  no  difference  between  good  and  evil;  ex- 
pedient and  inexpedient  are  the  better  words.  These 
are  to  be  learned  only  by  long  study  and  much  cunning. 
All  men  have  not  the  requisite  skill  to  find  out  moral 
and  religious  doctrines,  and  no  means  of  proving  either 
in  their  own  heart;  therefore  they  must  take  the  word 
of  their  appointed  teachers  and  philosophers,  who 
"  have  investigated  the  matter ;"  found  there  is  "  an 
expedient  way  "  for  them  to  follow,  and  a  "  God  "  to 
punish  them  if  they  do  not  follow  it.  In  moral  and  re- 
ligious matters  the  mass  of  men  must  rely  on  the  author- 
ity of  their  teachers.  Millions  of  men,  who  never  made 
an  astronomical  observation,  believe  the  distance  be- 
tween the  earth  and  the  sun  is  what  N^ewton  or  Laplace 
declares  it  to  be.  Why  should  not  men  take  moral  and 
»religious  doctrines  on  the  same  evidence.?  It  is  true, 
astronomers  have  differed  a  little  —  some  making  the 
earth  the  centre,  some  the  sun  —  and  divines  still  more. 
But  men  must  learn  the  moral  law  as  the  statute  law. 
The  state  is  above  each  man's  private  notions  about 
good  and  evil,  and  controls  these,  as  well  as  their  pas- 
sions. Man  must  act  always  from  mean  and  selfish 
views,  never  from  love  of  the  good,  the  beautiful,  the 
true. 

This  system  would  have  religious  forms,  and  cere- 
monies to  take  up  the  mind  of  the  people ;  moral  pre* 


INSPIRATION  179 

cepts,  and  religious  creeds,  "  punished  by  authority," 
to  keep  men  from  unprofitable  crimes;  an  established 
church,  like  the  jail  and  the  gallows,  a  piece  of  state- 
machinery.  It  is  logical  in  this,  for  it  fears  that,  with- 
out such  a  provision,  the  sensual  nature  would  overlay 
the  intellectual;  the  few  religious  ideas  common  men 
could  get,  would  be  so  shadowy  and  uncertain,  and 
men  be  so  blinded  by  prejudice,  superstition,  and  fancy, 
or  so  far  misled  by  passion  and  ignorant  selfishness, 
that  nothing  but  want  and  anarchy  would  ensue.  It 
tells  men  to  pray.  None  can  escape  the  conviction 
that  prayer,  vocal  or  silent,  put  up  as  a  request,  or  felt 
as  a  sense  of  supplication,  is  natural  as  hunger  and 
thirst,  or  tears  and  smiles.  Even  a  self-styled  atheist  * 
talks  of  the  important  physiological  functions  of 
prayer.  This  theory  makes  prayer  a  soliloquy  of  the 
man;  a  thinking  with  the  upper  part  of  the  head;  a 
sort  of  moral  gymnastics.  Thereby  we  get  nothing 
from  God.  He  is  the  other  side  of  the  world.  "  He 
is  a  journeying,  or  pursuing,  or  peradventure  he 
sleepeth."  Prayer  is  useful  to  the  worshipper  as  the 
poet's  frenzy,  when  he  apostrophizes  a  mountain,  or 
the  moon,  and  works  himself  into  a  rapturo,  but  gets 
nothing  from  the  mountain  or  the  moon,  except  what  he 
carried  out. 

In  a  word,  this  theory  reduces  the  idea  of  God  to 
that  of  an  abstract  cause,  and  excludes  this  cause  both 
from  man  and  the  world.  It  has  only  a  finite  God, 
which  is  no  God  at  all,  for  the  two  terms  cancel  each 
other.  It  has  only  a  selfish  morality,  which  is  no  mo- 
rality at  all,  for  the  same  reason.  It  reduces  the  soul 
to  the  aggregate  functions  of  the  flesh ;  providence  to 
a  law  of  matter ;  infinity  to  a  dream ;  religion  to  priest- 

*  M.  Comte. 


180  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

craft ;  prayer  to  an  apostrophe ;  morality  to  making  a 
good  bargain ;  conscience  to  cunning.  It  denies  the 
possibihty  of  any  connection  between  God  and  man. 
Revelation  and  inspiration  it  regards  as  figures  of 
speech,  by  which  we  refer  to  an  agency  purely  ideal 
what  was  the  result  of  the  senses  and  matter  acting 
thereon.  Men  calling  themselves  inspired,  speaking  in 
the  name  of  God,  were  deceivers,  or  deceived.  Proph- 
ets, the  religious  geniuses  of  the  world,  mistook  their 
fancies  for  revelations;  embraced  a  cloud  instead  of  a 
goddess,  and  produced  only  misshapen  dreams. 
Judged  by  this  system,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  pure- 
minded  fanatic,  who  knew  no  more  about  God  than 
Peter  Bayle  and  Pomponatius,  but  yet  did  the  world 
service,  by  teaching  the  result  of  his  own  or  others'  ex- 
perience, as  revelations  from  God  accompanied  with 
the  promise  of  another  life,  which  is  reckoned  a  pleas- 
ant delusion,  useful  to  keep  men  out  of  crime,  a  clever 
auxiliary  of  the  powers  that  be. 

This  system  has  perhaps  never  been  held  in  all  its 
parts,  by  any  one  man,*  but  each  portion  has  often 
been  defended,  and  all  its  parts  go  together  and  come 
unavoidably,  from  that  notion,  that  there  is  nothing 
in  man  which  was  not  first  in  the  senses.f  The  best 
representatives   of  this   school   were,   it   may   be,   the 

*  It  is  instructive  to  see  the  influence  of  this  form  of  philos- 
ophy in  the  various  departments  of  inquiry,  as  shown  in  the 
writings  of  Bacon,  Hobbes,  Locke,  Collins,  Mandeville,  Hart- 
ley, Hume,  Priestley,  Paley,  Horne-Tooke,  Condillac,  Helvetius, 
Darwin,  Bentham,  etc.  But  this  philosophy  could  never  fully 
satisfy  the  English  mind.  So  there  were  such  men  as  Cud- 
worth,  Moore,  Cumberland,  Edwards,  WoUaston,  Clarke,  Butler, 
Berkeley,  Harris,  Price,  and  more  recently,  Reid,  Stewart, 
Brown,  Coleridge,  and  Carlyle,  not  to  mention  the  more  mystical 
men  like  Fox  and  Penn,  with  their  followers. 

t  See  the  judicious  observations  of  Shaftesbury,  eighth  Letter 
to  a  Student. 


INSPIRATION  181 

French  Materialists  of  the  last  century,  and  some  of 
the  English  Deists.  The  latter  term  is  applied  to  men 
of  the  most  various  character  and  ways  of  thinking. 
Some  of  them  were  most  excellent  men  in  all  respects ; 
men  who  did  mankind  great  service  by  exposing  the 
fanaticism  of  the  superstitious,  and  by  showing  the 
absurdities  embraced  by  many  of  the  Christians.  Some 
of  them  were  much  more  religious  and  heavenly-minded 
than  their  opponents,  and  had  a  theology  much  more 
Christian,  which  called  goodness  by  its  proper  name, 
and  worshipped  God  in  lowliness  of  heart,  and  a  divine 
life.  But  the  spirit  of  this  system  takes  different  forms 
in  different  men.  It  appears  in  the  cold  morality  and 
repulsive  forms  of  religion  of  Dr.  Priestley,  who  was 
yet  one  of  the  best  of  men ;  in  the  skepticism  of  Hume 
and  his  followers,  which  has  been  a  useful  medicine  to 
the  Church;  in  the  selfish  system  of  Paley,  far  more 
dangerous  than  the  dobts  of  Hume  or  the  scoffs  of  Gib- 
bon and  Voltaire;  in  the  coarse,  vulgar  materialism  of 
Hobbes,  who  may  be  taken  as  one  of  the  best  representa- 
tives of  the  system. 

It  is  obvious  enough,  that  this  system  of  naturalism 
is  the  philosophy  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the 
popular  theology  in  New  England ;  that  it  is  very  little 
understood  by  the  men,  out  of  pulpits  and  in  pulpits, 
who  adhere  to  it;  who,  while  they  hold  fast  to  the 
theory  of  the  worst  of  the  English  Deists  —  though  of 
only  the  worst ;  while  they  deny  the  immanence  of  God 
in  matter  and  man,  and  therefore  take  away  the  possi- 
bility of  natural  inspiration,  and  cling  to  that  system 
of  philosophy  which  justifies  the  doubt  of  Hume,  the 
selfishness  of  Paley,  the  coarse  meterialism  of  Hobbes, 
—  are  yet  ashamed  of  their  descent,  and  seek  to  point 
out  others  of  a  quite  different  spiritual  complexion,  as 
the  lineal  descendents  of  that  ancient  stock. 


182  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

This  system  has  one  negative  merit.  It  can,  as  such, 
never  lead  to  fanaticism.  Those  sects,  or  individuals, 
who  approach  most  nearly  to  pure  naturalism,  have 
never  been  accused,  in  religious  matters,  of  going  too 
fast  or  too  far.  But  it  has  a  positive  excellence.  It 
lays  great  stress  on  the  human  mind,  and  cultivates  the 
understanding  to  the  last  degree.  However,  its  philoso- 
phy, its  theology,  its  worship,  are  of  the  senses,  and  the 
senses  alone.* 

*  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  refer  particularly  to 
the  authors  representing  this  system.  I  have  rather  taken 
pains  to  express  their  doctrine  in  my  own  words,  lest  individuals 
should  be  thought  responsible  for  the  sins  of  the  system.  One 
may  read  many  works  of  divinity,  and  see  that  this  philosophy 
lay  unconsciously  in  the  writer's  mind.  I  do  not  mean  to 
insinuate,  that  many  persons  fully  and  knowingly  believe  this 
doctrine,  but  that  they  are  yet  governed  by  it,  under  the  modi- 
fication treated  of  in  the  next  chapter.  Locke  has  sometimes 
been  charged  with  follies  of  this  character,  but  unjustly,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  for  though  the  fundamental  principles  of  his  philos- 
ophy, and  many  passages  in  his  works,  do  certainly  look  that 
way,  others  are  of  a  quite  spiritual  tendency.  See  King's  Life 
of  Locke,  Vol.  I.  p.  366,  et  seq.,  and  his  theological  writings, 
passim. 


CHAPITER  VII 

THE    ANTI-RATIONALISTIC    VIEW,    OR    SU- 
PERNATURALISM 

This  system  differs  in  many  respects  from  the  other : 
but  its  philosophy  is  at  bottom  the  same.  It  denies 
that  by  natural  action  there  can  be  any  thing  in  man 
which  was  not  first  in  the  senses ;  whatever  transcends 
the  senses  can  come  to  him  only  by  a  miracle.  And 
the  miracle  is  attended  with  phenomena  obvious  to  the 
senses.  To  develop  the  natural  side  of  the  theory  it 
sets  God  on  the  one  side  and  man  on  the  other.  How- 
ever it  admits  the  immanence  of  God  in  matter,  and 
talks  very  little  about  the  laws  of  matter,  which  it 
thinks  require  revision,  amendment,  and  even  repeal,  as 
if  the  nature  of  things  changed,  or  God  grew  wiser  by 
experiment.  It  does  not  see  that  if  God  is  always  the 
same,  and  immanent  in  nature,  the  laws  of  nature  can 
neither  change  nor  be  changed.*  It  limits  the  power 
of  man  still  further  than  the  former  theory.  It  denies 
that  he  can,  of  himself,  discover  the  existence  of  God ; 
or  find  out  that  it  is  better  to  love  his  brother  than  to 
hate  him,  to  subject  the  passions  to  reason,  desire  to 
duty,  rather  than  to  subject  reason  to  passion,  duty 
to  desire. f     Man  can  find  out  all  that  is  needed  for  his 

*  Leibnitz  in  a  letter  to  the  Princess  of  Wales,  Opp.  phil.  ed. 
Erdmann;  Berlin,  1840,  p.  746-7,  amuses  himself  with  ridiculing 
this  view  which  he  ascribes  to  Newton  and  his  followers, 
"according  to  them,"  says  he,  "God  must  wind  up  his  watch 
from  time  to  time  or  it  would  stop  outright.  He  was  not  far- 
sighted  enough  to  make  a  perpetual  motion." 

t  Some  supernaturalists  admit  that  man  by  nature  can  find 
out  the  most  important  religious  truths,  in  the  way  set  down 

183 


184  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

animal  and  intellectual  welfare,  with  no  miracle;  but 
can  learn  nothing  that  is  needed  for  his  moral  and  re- 
ligious welfare.  He  can  invent  the  steam  engine,  and 
calculate  the  orbit  of  Halley's  comet;  but  cannot  tell 
good  from  evil,  nor  determine  that  there  is  a  God. 
The  unnecessary  is  given  him;  the  indispensable  he 
cannot  get  by  nature.  Man,  therefore,  is  the  veriest 
wretch  in  creation.  His  mind  forces  him  to  inquire  on 
religious  matters,  but  brings  him  into  doubt,  and  leaves 
him  in  the  very  slough  of  despond.  He  goes  up  and 
down  sorrowing,  seeking  rest,  but  finding  none.  Nay ; 
it  goes  further  still,  and  declares  that,  by  nature,  all 
men's  actions  are  sin,  hateful  to  God. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  teaches  that  God  works  a  mira- 
cle from  time  to  time,  and  makes  to  men  a  positive  rev- 
elation of  moral  and  religious  truth,  which  they  could 
not  otherwise  gain.  Its  history  of  revelations  is  this: 
God  revealed  his  own  existence  in  a  visible  form  to  the 
first  man;  taught  him  religious  and  moral  duties  by 
words  orally  spoken.  The  first  man  communicated  this 
knowledge  to  his  descendants,  from  whom  the  tradition 
of  the  fact  has  spread  over  all  the  world.  Men  know 
there  is  a  God,  and  a  distinction  between  right  and 
wrong,  only  by  hearsay,  as  they  know  there  was  a  flood 
in  the  time  of  Noah,  or  Deucalion.  The  first  man  sin- 
ned, and  fell  from  the  state  of  frequent  communion  with 

before,  and  some  admit  a  moral  sense  in  man.  Others  deny 
both.  A  recent  writer  denies  that  he  can  find  by  the  light  of 
nature  any  theological  truth.  Natural  theology  is  not  pos- 
sible. See  Irons,  On  the  whole  Doctrine  of  Final  Causes;  Lond. 
1836,  p.  34,  129,  and  passim.  His  introductory  chapter  on 
modern  deism  is  very  curious.  He  has  some  excellent  remarks, 
for  there  are  two  kingdoms  of  philosophy  in  him,  but  wishes 
to  advance  what  he  calls  revealed  religion,  at  the  expense  of  the 
foundation  of  all  religion.  The  Ottoman  King  never  thinks 
himself  secure  on  the  throne  till  he  has  slain  all  his  brothers. 


INSPIRATION  186 

God.  Revelations  have  since  become  Tare ;  exceptions  in 
the  history  of  men.  However,  as  man  having  no  con- 
nection with  the  infinite  must  soon  perish,  God  continued 
to  make  miraculous  revelations  to  one  single  people. 
To  them  he  gave  laws,  religious  and  civil;  made  pre- 
dictions, and  accompanied  each  revelation  by  some 
miraculous  sign,  for  without  it  none  could  distinguish 
the  truth  from  a  lie.  Other  nations  received  reflections 
of  this  light,  which  was  directly  imparted  to  the  fa- 
vored people.  At  length  he  made  a  revelation  of  all 
religious  and  moral  truth,  by  means  of  his  Son,  a  divine 
and  miraculous  being,  both  God  and  man,  and  con- 
firmed the  tidings  by  miracles  the  most  surprising.  As 
this  revelation  is  to  last  forever,  it  has  been  recorded 
miraculously,  and  preserved  for  all  coming  time.  The 
persons  who  received  direct  communication  miraculously 
from  God,  are  of  course  mediators  between  him  and  the 
human  race. 

Now  to  live  as  religious  men,  we  must  have  a  knowl- 
edge of  religious  truth ;  for  this  we  must  depend  alone 
on  these  mediators.  Without  them  we  have  no  access 
to  God.  They  have  established  a  new  relation  between 
man  and  God.  But  they  are  mortal,  and  have  de- 
ceased. However,  their  sayings  are  recorded  by  mirac- 
ulous aid.  A  knowledge  of  God's  will,  of  morality 
and  religion,  therefore,  is  only  to  be  got  at,  by  study- 
ing the  documents  which  contain  a  record  of  their 
words  and  works,  for  the  word  of  God  has  become 
the  letter  of  scripture.  We  can  know  nothing  of  God, 
religion,  or  morals  at  first  hand.  God  was  but  tran- 
siently present  in  a  small  number  of  the  race,  and  has 
now  left  it  altogether. 

This  theory  forgets  that  a  verbal  revelation  can  never 
CPmmunicate  a  simple  idea,  like  that  of  God,  justice, 


186  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

love,  religion,  more  than  a  word  can  give  a  deaf  man 
an  idea  of  sound.  It  makes  inspiration  a  very  rare 
miracle,  confined  to  one  nation,  and  to  some  scores  of 
men  in  that  nation,  who  stand  between  us  and  God. 
We  cannot  pray  in  our  own  name,  but  in  that  of  the 
mediator,  who  hears  the  prayer,  and  makes  intercession 
for  us.  It  exalts  certain  miraculous  persons,  but  de- 
grades man.  In  prophets  and  saints,  in  Moses  and 
Jesus,  it  does  not  see  the  possibility  of  the  race  made 
real,  but  only  the  miraculous  work  of  God.  Our  duty 
is  not  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  their  word.  Reason 
is  no  judge  of  that.  We  must  put  faith  in  all  which 
all  of  them  tell  us,  though  they  contradict  each  other 
never  so  often.  Thus  it  makes  an  antithesis  between 
faith  and  knowledge,  reason  and  revelation.  It  de- 
nies that  common  men,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  can 
get  at  truth,  and  God,  as  Paul  and  John  in  the  first 
century.  It  sacrifices  reason,  conscience,  and  love  to 
the  words  of  the  miraculous  men,  and  thus  makes  its 
mediator  a  tyrant,  who  rules  over  the  soul  by  external 
authority,  restricting  reason,  conscience,  and  love;  not 
a  brother,  who  acts  in  the  soul,  by  waking  its  dormant 
powers,  disclosing  truth,  and  leading  others  by  a  divine 
life,  to  God,  the  source  of  light.  It  says  the  words 
of  Jesus  are  true  because  he  spoke  them ;  not  that  he 
spoke  them  because  true.  It  relies  entirely  on  past 
times ;  does  not  give  us  the  absolute  religion,  as  it  ex- 
ists in  man's  nature,  and  the  ideas  of  the  Almighty, 
only  a  historical  mode  of  worship,  as  lived  out  here 
or  there.  It  says  the  canon  of  revelation  is  closed; 
God  will  no  longer  act  on  men  as  heretofore.  We 
have  come  at  the  end  of  the  feast ;  are  born  in  the  lat- 
ter days  and  dotage  of  mankind,  and  can  only  get  light, 
by  raking  amid  the  ashes  of  the  past,  and  blowing  its 


INSPIRATION  187 

brands,  now  almost  extinct.  It  denies  that  God  is 
present  and  active  in  all  spirit  as  in  all  space  —  thus  it 
denies  that  he  is  infinite.  In  the  miraculous  documents 
it  gives  us  an  objective  standard,  "  the  only  infallible 
rule  of  religious  faith  and  practice."  These  mediators 
are  greater  than  the  soul ;  the  Bible  the  master  of  rea- 
son, conscience,  and  the  religious  sentiment.  They 
stand  in  the  place  of  God. 

Men  ask  of  this  system:  How  do  you  know  there 
is  in  man  nothing  but  the  product  of  sensation,  or 
miraculous  tradition ;  that  he  cannot  approach  God  ex- 
cept by  miracle;  that  these  mediators  received  truth 
miraculously ;  taught  all  truth ;  nothing  but  the  truth ; 
that  you  have  their  words,  pure  and  unmixed  in  your 
Scriptures ;  that  God  has  no  further  revelation  to 
make.?  The  answer  is: — we  find  it  convenient  to  as- 
sume all  this,  and  accordingly  have  banished  reason 
from  the  premises,  for  she  asked  troublesome  questions. 
We  condescend  to  no  proof  of  the  facts.  You  must 
take  our  word  for  that.  Thus  the  main  doctrines  of 
the  theory  rest  on  assumptions ;  on  no-facts. 

This  system  represents  the  despair  of  man  groping 
after  God.  The  religious  element  acts,  but  is  crip- 
pled by  a  philosophy  poor  and  sensual.  Is  man  noth- 
ing but  a  combination  of  five  senses,  and  a  thinking 
machine  to  grind  up  and  bolter  sensations,  and  learn  of 
God  only  by  hearsay?  The  God  of  Supernaturalism 
is  a  God  afar  off;  its  religion  worn-out  and  second- 
hand. We  cannot  meet  God  face  to  face.  In  one  re- 
spect it  is  worse  than  naturalism ;  that  sets  great  value 
on  the  faculties  of  man,  which  this  depreciates  and 
profanes.  But  all  systems  rest  on  a  truth,  or  they 
could  not  be ;  this  on  a  great  truth,  or  it  could  not  pre- 
vail widely.     It  admits  a  qualified  immanence  of  God 


188  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

in  nature,  and  declares,  also,  that  mankind  is  depend- 
ent on  Him,  for  religious  and  moral  truth  as  for  all 
things   else;  has   a   connection   with   God   who   really 
guides,  educates,  and  blesses  the  race,  for  he  is  tran- 
siently present  therein.     The   doctrine  of  miraculous 
events,  births,  persons,  deaths,  and  the  like,  this  is  the 
veil  of  poetry  drawn  over  the  face  of  fact.     It  has  a 
truth  not   admitted  by   naturalism.      As   only   a   few 
"  thinking  "  men  even  in  fancy  can  be  satisfied  without 
a  connection  with  God,  so  naturalism  is  always  con- 
fined to  a  few  reflective  and  cultivated  persons;  while 
the  mass  of  men  beheve  in  the  supernatural  theory,  at 
least,  in  the  truth  it  covers  up.     Its  truth  is  of  great 
moment.     Its  vice  is  to  make  God  transiently  active  in 
man,  not  immanent  in  him ;  restrict  the  divine  presence 
and  action  to  times,  places,  and  persons.     It  overlooks 
the  fact  that  if  religious  truth  be  necessary  for  all,  then 
it  must  either  have  been  provided  for  and  put  in  the 
reach  of  all,  or  else  there  is  a  fault  in  the  divine  plan. 
Then  again,  if  God  gives  a  natural  supply  for  the 
lower  wants,  it  is  probable,  to  say  the  least,  he  will  not 
neglect  the  higher.     Now  for  the  religious  conscious- 
ness of  man,  a  knowledge  of  two  great  truths  is  indis- 
pensable: namely,  a  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  the 
infinite  God,  and  of  the  duty  we  owe  to  him,  for  a 
knowledge  of  these  two  is  implied  in  all  religious  teach- 
ing and  life.    Now  one  of  two  things  must  be  admitted, 
and  a  third  is  not  possible:  either  man  can  discover 
these  two  things  by  the  light  of  nature,  or  he  cannot. 
If  the  latter  be  the  case,  then  is  he  the  most  hopeless 
of  all  beings.    Revelation  of  these  truths  is  confined  to 
a  few;  it  is  indispensably  necessary  to  all.     Accord- 
ingly the  first  hypothesis  is  generally  admitted  by  the 
supernaturalists,  in  New  England  —  though  in  spite 


INSPIRATION  189 

of  their  philosophy  —  that  these  twq  things  can  be  dis- 
covered by  the  hght  of  nature.  Then  if  the  two  main 
points,  the  premises  which  involve  the  whole  of  morals 
and  religion,  lie  within  the  reach  of  man's  natural 
powers,  how  is  a  miracle,  or  the  tradition  of  a  miracle, 
necessary  to  reveal  the  minor  doctrines  involved  in  the 
universal  truth?  Does  not  the  faculty  to  discern  the 
greater  include  the  faculty  to  discern  the  less?  What 
covers  an  acre  will  cover  a  yard.  Where  then  is  the 
use  of  the  miraculous  interposition? 

Neither  naturalism  nor  supematuralism  legitimates 
the  fact  of  man's  religious  consciousness.  Both  fail  of 
satisfying  the  natural  religious  wants  of  the  race. 
Each  has  merits  and  vices  of  its  own.  Neither  gives 
for  the  soul's  wants  a  supply  analogous  to  that  so 
bountifully  provided  for  the  wants  of  the  body,  or  the 
mind. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   NATURAL-RELIGIOUS   VIEW,   OR 
SPIRITUALISM 

This  theory  teaches  that  there  is  a  natural  supply 
for  spiritual  as  well  as  for  corporeal  wants ;  that  there 
is  a  connection  between  God  and  the  soul,  as  between 
light  and  the  eye,  sound  and  the  ear,  food  and  the 
palate,  truth  and  the  intellect,  beauty  and  the  imagina- 
tion ;  that  as  we  follow  an  instinctive  tendency,  obey  the 
body's  law,  get  a  natural  supply  for  its  wants,  attain 
health  and  strength,  the  body's  welfare;  as  we  keep 
the  law  of  the  mind,  and  get  a  supply  for  its  wants, 
attain  wisdom  and  skill,  the  mind's  welf are,^ —  so  if, 
following  another  instinctive  tendency,  we  keep  the 
law  of  the  moral  and  religious  faculties,  we  get  a  sup- 
ply for  their  wants,  moral  and  religious  truth,  obtain 
peace  of  conscience  and  rest  for  the  soul,  the  highest 
moral  and  religious  welfare.  It  teaches  that  the  world 
is  not  nearer  to  our  bodies  than  God  to  the  soul ;  "  for 
in  him  we  live  and  move,  and  have  our  being."  As  we 
have  bodily  senses  to  lay  hold  on  matter  and  supply 
bodily  wants,  through  which  we  obtain,  naturally,  all 
needed  material  things;  so  we  have  spiritual  faculties 
to  lay  hold  on  God,  and  supply  spiritual  wants; 
through  them  we  obtain  all  needed  spiritual  things.  As 
we  observe  the  conditions  of  the  body,  we  have  nature 
on  our  side ;  as  we  observe  the  law  of  the  soul  we  have 
God  on  our  side.  He  imparts  truth  to  all  men  who  ob- 
serve these  conditions;  we  have  direct  access  to  him, 
through  reason,  conscience,  and  the  religious  faculty, 

190 


INSPIRATION  191 

just  as  we  have  direct  access  to  n^ure,  through  the 
eye,  the  ear,  or  the  hand.  Through  these  channels, 
and  by  means  of  a  law,  certain,  regular,  and  universal 
as  gravitation,  God  inspires  men,  makes  revelation  of 
truth,  for  is  not  truth  as  much  a  phenomenon  of  God, 
as  motion  of  matter?  Therefore  if  God  be  omnipres- 
ent and  omniactive,  this  inspiration  is  no  miracle,  but  a 
legular  mode  of  God's  action  on  conscious  spirit,  as 
gravitation  on  unconscious  matter.  It  is  not  a  rare 
condescension  of  God  but  a  universal  uplifting  of  man. 
To  obtain  a  knowledge  of  duty,  a  man  is  not  sent 
away,  outside  of  himself  to  ancient  documents,  for  the 
only  rule  of  faith  and  practice ;  the  word,  is  very  nigh 
him,  even  in  his  heart,  and  by  this  word  he  is  to  try  all 
documents  whatever.  Inspiration,  like  God's  omnipres- 
ence, is  not  limited  to  the  few  writers  claimed  by  the 
Jews,  Christians,  or  Mahometans,  but  is  coextensive 
with  the  race.  As  God  fills  all  space,  so  all  spirit;  as 
he  influences  and  constrains  unconscious  and  necessi- 
tated matter,  so  he  inspires  and  helps  free  and  con- 
scious man. 

This  theory  does  not  make  God  limited,  partial,  or 
capricious.  It  exalts  man.  While  it  honors  the  excel- 
lence of  a  religious  genius,  of  a  Moses  or  a  Jesus,  it 
does  not  pronounce  their  character  monstrous,  as  the 
supernatural,  nor  fanatical,  as  the  rationalistic  theory ; 
but  natural,  human,  and  beautiful,  revealing  the  pos- 
sibility of  mankind.  Prayer,  whether  voluntative  or 
spontaneous,  a  word  or  a  feeling,  felt  in  gratitude  or 
penitence,  or  joy,  or  resignation, —  is  not  a  soliloquy 
of  the  man,  not  a  physiological  function,  nor  an  ad- 
dress to  a  deceased  man;  but  a  sally  into  the  infinite 
spiritual  world,  whence  we  bring  back  light  and  truth. 
There  are  windows  towards  God,  as  towards  the  world. 


192  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

There  is  no  intercessor,  angel,  mediator  between  man 
and  God;  for  man  can  speak  and  God  hear,  each  for 
himself.  He  requires  no  advocate  to  plead  for  men, 
who  need  not  pray  by  attorney.  Each  man  stands 
close  to  the  omnipresent  God;  may  feel  his  beautiful 
presence,  and  have  familiar  access  to  the  all- father; 
get  truth  at  first  hand  from  its  author.  Wisdom, 
righteousness,  and  love,  are  the  spirit  of  God  in  the 
soul  of  man;  wherever  these  are,  and  just  in  propor- 
tion to  their  power,  there  is  inspiration  from  God. 
Thus  God  is  not  the  author  of  confusion,  but  concord ; 
faith,  and  knowledge,  and  revelation,  and  reason  tell 
the  same  tale,  and  so  legitimate  and  confirm  one  an- 
other.* 

God's  action  on  matter  and  on  man  is  perhaps  the 
same  thing  to  him,  though  it  appear  differently  modi- 
fied to  us.  But  it  is  plain  from  the  nature  of  things, 
that  there  can  be  but  one  kind  of  inspiration,  as  of 
truth,  faith,  or  love:  it  is  the  direct  and  intuitive  per- 
ception of  some  truth,  either  of  thought  or  of  senti- 
ment. There  can  be  but  one  mode  of  inspiration:  it 
is  the  action  of  the  highest  within  the  soul,  the  divine 
presence  imparting  light;  this  presence  as  truth,  jus- 
tice, holiness,  love,  infusing  itself  into  the  soul,  giving 
it  new  life ;  the  breathing  in  of  the  deity ;  the  in-come 
of  God  to  the  soul,  in  the  form  of  truth  through  the 
reason,  of  right  through  the  conscience,  of  love  and 
faith  through  the  affections  and  religious  element.  Is 
inspiration  confined  to  theological  matters  alone  ?  Most 
surely  not.  Is  Newton  less  inspired  than  Simon 
Peter  ?f 

*  See  Jonathan  Edwards*  view  of  Inspiration,  in  his  sermon 
on  A  divine  Light  imparted  to  the  Soul,  etc.  Works,  ed.  Lond. 
1840.     Vol.  II.  p.  12,  et  seq.,  and  Vol.  I.  p.  cclxix.     No.  [20]. 

t  So   long   as    inspiration   is    regarded   as   purely   miraculous. 


INSPIRATION  193 

Now  if  the  above  views  be  true<  there  seems  no 
ground  for  supposing,  without  historical  proof,  there 
are  different  kinds  or  modes  of  inspiration  in  different 
persons,  nations,  or  ages,  in  Minos  or  Moses,  in  Gen- 
tiles or  Jews,  in  the  first  century  or  the  last.  If  God 
be  infinitely  perfect.  He  does  not  change;  then  his 
modes  of  action  are  perfect  and  unchangeable.  The 
laws  of  mind,  like  those  of  matter,  remain  immutable 
and  not  transcended.  As  God  has  left  no  age  nor 
man  destitute,  by  nature,  of  reason,  conscience,  affec- 
tion, soul,  so  he  leaves  none  destitute  of  inspiration. 
It  is,  therefore,  the  light  of  all  our  being;  the  back- 
ground of  all  human  faculties ;  the  sole  means  by  which 
we  gain  a  knowledge  of  what  is  not  seen  and  felt;  the 
logical  condition  of  all  sensual  knowledge;  our  high- 
good  sense  will  lessen  instances  of  it,  as  far  as  possible ;  for  most 
thinking  men  feel  more  or  less  repugnance  at  believing  in  any 
violation,  on  God's  part,  of  regular  laws.  As  spiritual  things 
are  commonly  less  attended  to  than  material,  the  belief  in 
miraculous  inspiration  remains  longer  in  religious  than  secular 
ajffairs.  A  man  would  be  looked  on  as  mad,  who  should  claim 
miraculous  inspiration  for  Newton,  as  they  have  been  who 
denied  it  in  the  case  of  Moses.  But  no  candid  man  will  doubt 
that,  humanly  speaking,  it  was  a  more  difficult  thing  to  write 
the  Principia  than  the  Decalogue.  Man  must  have  a  nature 
most  sadly  anomalous,  if,  unassisted,  he  is  able  to  accomplish 
all  the  triumphs  of  modern  science,  and  yet  cannot  discover 
the  plainest  and  most  important  principles  of  religion  and 
morality  without  a  miraculous  revelation;  and  still  more  so, 
if  being  able  to  discover,  by  God's  natural  aid,  these  chief  and 
most  important  principles,  he  needs  a  miraculous  inspiration 
to  disclose  minor  details.  Science  is  by  no  means  indispensable, 
as  religion  and  morals.  The  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  if  it  is  a  real  advantage,  follows  unavoidably  from 
the  idea  of  God.  The  Best  Being,  he  must  will  the  best  of 
good  thing;  the  Wisest,  he  must  devise  plans  for  that  effect;  the 
most  Powerful,  he  must  bring  it  about.  None  can  deny  this. 
Does  one  ask  another  "proof  of  the  fact?"  Is  he  so  very  full 
of  faith  who  cannot  trust  God,  except  he  have  His  bond  in 
black  and  white,  given  under  oath  and  attested  by  witnesses! 
Ill— 13 


194  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

way  to  the  world  of  spirit.  Man  cannot,  more  than 
matter,  exist  without  God.  Inspiration  then,  hke  vi- 
sion, must  be  everywhere  the  same  thing  in  kind ;  how- 
ever it  differs  in  degree,  from  race  to  race,  from  man 
to  man.  The  degree  of  inspiration  must  depend  on 
two  things :  first,  on  the  natural  ability,  the  particular, 
intellectual,  moral,  and  religious  endowment,  or  genius, 
wherewith  each  man  is  furnished  by  God ;  and  next,  on 
the  use  each  man  makes  of  this  endowment.  In  one 
word,  it  depends  on  the  man's  quantity  of  being,  and 
his  quantity  of  obedience.  Now  as  men  differ  widely 
in  their  natural  endowments,  and  much  more  widely  in 
the  use  and  development  thereof,  there  must  of  course 
be  various  degrees  of  inspiration,  from  the  lowest  sin- 
ner up  to  the  highest  saint.  All  men  are  not  by  birth 
capable  of  the  same  degree  of  inspiration ;  and  by  cul- 
ture and  acquired  character,  they  are  still  less  capable 
of  it.  A  man  of  noble  intellect,  of  deep,  rich,  benevo- 
lent affections,  is  by  his  endowments  capable  of  more 
than  one  less  gifted.  He  that  perfectly  keeps  the 
soul's  law,  thus  fulfilling  the  conditions  of  inspiration, 
has  more  than  he  who  keeps  it  imperfectly ;  the  former 
must  receive  all  his  soul  can  contain  at  that  stage  of 
his  growth.  Thus  it  depends  on  a  man's  own  will,  in 
great  measure,  to  what  extent  he  will  be  inspired.  The 
man  of  humble  gifts  at  first,  by  faithful  obedience 
may  attain  a  greater  degree  than  one  of  larger  outfit, 
who  neglects  his  talent.  The  apostles  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, and  the  true  saints  of  all  countries,  are  proofs 
of  this.  Inspiration,  then,  is  the  consequence  of  a 
faithful  use  of  our  faculties.  Each  man  is  its  subject; 
God  its  source;  truth  its  only  test.  But  as  truth  ap- 
pears in  various  modes  to  us,  higher  and  lower,  and 
may,  be  superficially  divided,  according  to  our  facul- 


INSPIRATION  195 

ties,  into  truths  of  the  senses,  of  the  understanding,  of 
reason,  of  conscience,  of  the  affections,  and  the  soul, 
so  the  perception  of  truth  in  the  highest  mode,  that  of 
reason,  morals,  philanthropy,  religion,  is  the  highest 
inspiration.  He,  then,  that  has  the  most  of  wisdom, 
goodness,  religion,  the  most  of  truth,  in  the  highest 
modes,  is  the  most  inspired. 

Now  universal  infallible  inspiration  can  of  course 
only  be  the  attendant  and  result  of  a  perfect  fulfilment 
of  all  the  laws  of  mind,  of  the  moral,  afFectional  and 
religious  nature;  and  as  each  man's  faculties  are  lim- 
ited, it  is  not  possible  to  men.  A  foolish  man,  as  such, 
cannot  be  inspired  to  reveal  wisdom:  nor  a  wicked  man 
to  reveal  virtue;  nor  an  impious  man  to  reveal  reli- 
gion. Unto  him  that  hath  more  is  given.  The  poet 
reveals  poetry ;  the  artist  art ;  the  philosopher  science ; 
the  saint  religion.  The  greater,  purer,  loftier,  more 
complete  the  character,  so  is  the  inspiration;  for  he 
that  is  true  to  conscience,  faithful  to  reason,  obedient 
to  religion,  has  not  only  the  strength  of  his  own  virtue, 
wisdom,  and  piety,  but  the  whole  strength  of  omnipo- 
tence on  his  side;  for  goodness,  truth,  and  love,  as  we 
conceive  them,  are  not  one  thing  in  man,  and  another 
in  God,  but  the  same  thing  in  each.  Thus  man  par- 
takes the  divine  nature,  as  the  Platonist's,  Christians 
and  Mystics  call  it.  By  these  means  the  soul  of  all 
flows  into  the  man ;  what  is  private,  personal,  peculiar, 
ebbs  off  before  that  mighty  influx  from  on  high.  What 
is  universal,  absolute,  true,  speaks  out  of  his  lips,  in 
rude,  homely  utterance,  it  may  be,  or  in  words  that 
burn  and  sparkle  like  the  lightning's  fiery  flash. 

This  inspiration  reveals  itself  in  various  forms, 
Inodified  by  the  country,  character,  education,  pecul- 
iarity of  him  who  receives  it,  just  as  water  tsikes  the 


196  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

form  and  the  color  of  the  cup  into  which  it  flows,  and 
must  needs  mingle  with  the  impurities  it  chances  to 
meet.  Thus  Minos  and  Moses  were  inspired  to  make 
laws ;  David  to  pour  out  his  soul  in  pious  strains,  deep 
and  sweet  as  an  angel's  psaltery ;  Pindar  to  celebrate 
virtuous  deeds  in  high  heroic  song;  John  the  Baptist 
to  denounce  sin ;  Gerson,  and  Luther,  and  Bohme,  and 
Fenelon,  and  Fox,  to  do  each  his  peculiar  work,  and 
stir  the  world's  heart,  deep,  very  deep.  Plato  and 
Newton,  Milton  and  Isaiah,  Leibnitz  and  Paul,  Mo- 
zart, Raphael,  Phidias,  Praxiteles,  Orpheus,  receive 
into  their  various  forms,  the  one  spirit  from  God  most 
high.  It  appears  in  action  not  less  than  speech.  The 
spirit  inspires  Dorcas  to  make  coats  and  garments  for 
the  poor,  no  less  than  Paul  to  preach  the  Gospel.  As 
that  bold  man  himself  has  said,  "  there  are  diversities 
of  gifts,  but  the  same  spirit;  .  .  .  diversities  of 
operations,  but  the  same  God  who  worketh  all  in  all."  * 
In  one  man  it  may  appear  in  the  iron  hardness  of  rea- 
soning, which  breaks  through  sophistry,  and  preju- 
dice, the  rubbish  and  diluvial  drift  of  time.  In  an- 
other it  is  subdued  and  softened  by  the  flame  of  af- 
fection; the  hard  iron  of  the  man  is  melted  and  be- 
comes a  stream  of  persuasion,  sparkling  as  it  runs. 

Inspiration  does  not  destroy  the  man's  freedom; 
that  is  left  fetterless  by  obedience.  It  does  not  reduce 
all  to  one  uniform  standard,  but  Habbakuk  speaks  in 
his  own  way,  and  Hugh  de  St.  Victor  in  his.  The 
man  can  obey  or  not  obey;  can  quench  the  spirit,  or 
feed  it  as  he  will.  Thus  Jonah  flees  from  his  duty; 
Calchas  will  not  tell  the  truth  till  out  of  danger ;  Peter 
dissembles  and  lies.  Each  of  these  men  had  schemes 
of  his  own,  which  he  would  carry  out,  God  willing  or 

*  1  Cor.  XII.  4-6,  et  seq. 


INSPIRATION  19T 

not  willing.  But  when  the  sincere  ^man  receives  the 
truth  of  God  into  his  soul,  knowing  it  is  God's  truth, 
then  it  takes  such  a  hold  of  him  as  nothing  else  can 
do.  It  makes  the  weak  strong;  the  timid  brave;  men 
of  slow  tongue  become  full  of  power  and  persuasion. 
There  is  a  new  soul  in  the  man,  which  takes  him  as  it 
were  by  the  hair  of  his  head,  and  sets  him  down  where 
the  idea  he  wishes  for  demands.  It  takes  the  man 
away  from  the  hall  of  comfort,  the  society  of  his 
friends ;  makes  him  austere  and  lonely ;  cruel  to  him- 
self, if  need  be;  sleepless  in  his  vigilance,  unfaltering 
in  his  toil;  never  resting  from  his  work.  It  takes  the 
rose  out  of  the  cheek ;  turns  the  man  in  on  himself,  and 
gives  him  more  of  truth.  Then,  in  a  poetic  fancy,  the 
man  sees  visions;  has  wondrous  revelations;  every 
mountain  thunders;  God  bums  in  every  bush;  flames 
out  in  the  crimson  cloud ;  speaks  in  the  wind ;  descends 
with  every  dove;  is  all  in  all.  The  soul,  deep-wrought 
in  its  intense  struggle,  gives  outness  to  its  thought, 
and  on  the  trees  and  stars,  the  fields,  the  floods,  the 
corn  ripe  for  the  sickle,  on  men  and  women  it  sees  its 
burden  writ.  The  spirit  within  constrains  the  man. 
It  is  like  wine  that  hath  no  vent.  He  is  full  of  the 
God.  While  he  muses  the  fire  burns;  his  bosom  will 
scarce  hold  his  heart.  He  must  speak  or  he  dies, 
though  the  earth  quake  at  his  word.*  Timid  flesh  may 
resist,  and  Moses  say,  I  am  of  slow  speech.  What 
avails  that.?  The  soul  says:  Go  and  I  will  be  with 
thy  mouth,  to  quicken  thy  tardy  tongue.  Shrinking 
Jeremiah,  eff^eminate  and  timid,  recoils  before  the  fear- 
ful work  — "  The  flesh  will  quiver  when  the  pincers 
tear."  He  says :  I  cannot  speak.  I  am  a  child.  But 
the  great  soul  of  all  flows  into  him  and  says :  Say  not 

*  See  Lucan  IX.  564,  et  seq. 


198  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

"  I  am  a  child ! "  for  I  am  with  thee.  Gird  up  thy 
loins  like  a  man,  and  speak  all  that  I  command  thee. 
Be  not  afraid  at  men's  faces,  for  I  will  make  thee  a 
defenced  city,  a  column  of  steel,  and  walls  of  brass. 
Speak,  then,  against  the  whole  land  of  sinners ;  against 
the  kings  thereof,  the  princes  thereof,  its  people  and 
its  priests.  They  may  fight  against  thee,  but  they 
shall  not  prevail;  for  I  am  with  thee.  Devils  tempt 
the  man,  with  the  terror  of  defeat  and  want,  with  the 
hopes  of  selfish  ambition.  It  avails  nothing.  A  "  Get- 
thee-behind-me,  Satan,"  brings  angels  to  help.  Then 
are  the  man's  lips  touched  with  a  live  coal  from  the 
altar  of  truth,  brought  by  a  seraph's  hand.  He  is 
baptized  with  the  spirit  of  fire.  His  countenance  is 
like  lightning.  The  truth  thunders  from  his  tongue 
• — his  words  eloquent  as  persuasion;  no  terror  is  ter- 
rible; no  fear  formidable.  The  peaceful  is  satisfied  to 
be  a  man  of  strife  and  contention,  his  hand  against 
every  man,  to  root  up  and  pluck  down  and  destroy,  to 
build  with  the  sword  in  one  hand  and  the  trowel  in  the 
other.  He  came  to  bring  peace,  but  he  must  set  a  fire, 
and  his  soul  is  straitened  till  his  work  be  done. 
Elisha  must  leave  his  oxen  in  the  furrow ;  Amos  desert 
his  summer  fruit  and  his  friend ;  and  Bohme,  and  Bun- 
yan,  and  Fox,  and  a  thousand  others,  stout-hearted 
and  God-inspired,  must  go  forth  of  their  errand,  into 
the  faithless  world,  to  accept  the  prophet's  mission,  be 
stoned,  hated,  scourged,  slain.  Resistance  is  nothing 
to  these  men.  Over  them  steel  loses  its  power,  and 
public  opprobrium  its  shame;  deadly  things  do  not 
harm  them;  they  count  loss  gain  —  shame  glory  — 
death  triumph.  These  are  the  men  who  move  the 
world.  They  have  an  eye  to  see  its  follies,  a  heart  to 
weep  and  bleed  for  its  sin.     Filled  with  a  soul  wide  as 


INSPIRATION  199 

yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever,  they^  pray  great  pray- 
ers for  sinful  man.  The  wild  wail  of  a  brother's  heart 
runs  through  the  saddening  music  of  their  speech. 
The  destiny  of  these  men  is  forecast  in  their  birth. 
They  are  doomed  to  fall  on  evil  times  and  evil  tongues, 
come  when  they  will  come.  The  priest  and  the  Levite 
war  with  the  prophet  and  do  him  to  death.  They 
brand  his  name  with  infamy;  cast  his  unburied  bones 
into  the  Gehenna  of  popular  shame;  John  the  Baptist 
must  leave  his  head  in  a  charger;  Socrates  die  the 
death;  Jesus  be  nailed  to  his  cross;  and  Justin,  John 
Huss,  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  and  millions  of  hearts 
stout  as  these  and  as  full  of  God,  must  mix  their  last 
prayers,  their  admonition,  and  farewell  blessing,  with 
the  crackling  snap  of  fagots,  the  hiss  of  quivering 
flesh,  the  impotent  tears  of  wife  and  child,  and  the 
mad  roar  of  the  exulting  crowd.  Every  path  where 
mortal  feet  now  tread  secure,  has  been  beaten  out  of 
the  hard  flint  by  prophets  and  holy  men,  who  went 
before  us,  with  bare  and  bleeding  feet,  to  smooth  the 
way  for  our  reluctant  tread.  It  is  the  blood  of  pro- 
phets that  softens  the  Alpine  rock.  Their  bones  are 
scattered  in  all  the  high  places  of  mankind.  But  God 
lays  his  burdens  on  no  vulgar  men.  He  never  leaves 
their  souls  a  prey.  He  paints  Elysium  on  their  dun- 
geon wall.  In  the  populous  chamber  of  their  heart, 
the  light  of  faith  shines  bright  and  never  dies.  For 
such  as  are  on  the  side  of  God  there  is  no  cause  to  fear. 
The  influence  of  God  in  nature,  in  its  mechanical, 
vital,  or  instinctive  action,  is  beautiful.  The  shapely 
trees;  the  leaves  that  clothe  them  in  loveliness;  the 
com  and  the  cattle ;  the  dew  and  the  flowers ;  the  bird, 
the  insect,  moss  and  stone,  fire  and  water,  and  earth 
and  air ;  the  clear  blue  sky  that  folds  the  world  in  its 


wo  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

soft  embrace;  the  light  which  rides  on  swift  pinions, 
enchanting  all  it  touches,  reposing  harmless  on  an  in- 
fant's eyelid,  after  its  long  passage  from  the  other  side 
of  the  universe, —  all  these  are  noble  and  beautiful; 
they  admonish  while  they  delight  us,  these  silent  coun- 
sellors and  sovereign  aids.  But  the  inspiration  of  God 
in  man,  when  faithfully  obeyed,  is  nobler  and  far  more 
beautiful.  It  is  not  the  passive  elegance  of  uncon- 
scious things  which  we  see  resulting  from  man's  volun- 
tary obedience.  That  might  well  charm  us  in  nature; 
in  man  we  look  for  more.  Here  the  beauty  is  intellec- 
tual, the  beauty  of  thought  which  comprehends  the 
world  and  understands  its  laws ;  it  is  moral,  the  beauty 
of  virtue,  which  overcomes  the  world  and  lives  by  its 
own  laws ;  it  is  religious  and  affectional,  the  beauty  of 
holiness  and  love,  which  rises  above  the  world  and  lives 
by  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life.  A  single  good  man,  at 
one  with  God,  makes  the  morning  and  evening  sun  seem 
little  and  very  low.  It  is  a  higher  mode  of  the  divine 
power  that  appears  in  him,  self-conscious  and  self -re- 
strained. 

Now  this  it  seems  is  the  only  kind  of  inspiration 
which  is  possible.  It  is  coextensive  with  the  faithful 
use  of  man's  natural  powers.  Men  may  call  it  mirac- 
ulous, but  nothing  is  more  natural;  or  they  may  say, 
it  is  entirely  human,  for  it  is  the  result  of  man's  use  of 
his  faculties ;  but  what  is  more  divine  than  wisdom,  jus- 
tice, benevolence,  piety.?  Are  not  these  the  points  in 
which  man  and  God  conjoin?  If  He  is  present  and 
active  in  spirit  —  such  must  be  the  perfect  result  of 
the  action.  No  doubt  there  is  a  mystery  in  it,  as  in 
sensation,  in  all  the  functions  of  man.  But  what 
then  ?  As  a  good  man  has  said :  "  God  worketh  with 
us  both  to  will  and  to  do."    Mind,  conscience,  the  af- 


INSPIRATION  SOI 

fections,  and  the  soul  mediate  between  us  and  God,  as 
the  senses  between  us  and  matter.  Is  one  more  sur- 
prising than  the  other?  Is  the  one  to  be  condemned 
as  spiritual  mysticism  or  pantheism?  Then  so  is  the 
other  as  material  mysticism  or  pantheism.  Alas,  we 
know  but  in  part;  our  knowledge  is  circumscribed  by 
our  ignorance. 

Now  it  is  the  belief  of  all  primitive  nations  that  God 
inspires  the  wise,  the  good,  the  holy.*  Yes,  that  he 
works  with  man  in  every  noble  work.  No  doubt  their 
poor  conceptions  of  God  degraded  the  doctrine  and  as- 
cribed to  the  deity  what  came  from  their  disobedience 
of  his  law. 

The  wisest  and  holiest  men  have  spoken  in  the  name 
of  God.  Minos,  Moses,  Zoroaster,  Confucius,  Zaleu- 
cus,  Numa,  Mahomet,  profess  to  have  received  their 
doctrine  straightway  from  Him.  The  sacred  persons 
of  all  nations,  from  the  Druid  to  the  Pope,  refer  back 
to  his  direct  inspiration.  From  this  source  the  Sibyl- 
line oracles,  the  responses  at  Delphi,  the  sacred  books 
of  all  nations,  the  Vedas  and  the  Bible,  alike  claim  to 
proceed.  Pagans  tell  us  no  man  was  ever  great  with- 
out a  divine  afflatus  falling  upon  him.f  Much  falsity 
was  mingled  with  the  true  doctrine,  for  that  was  im- 
perfectly understood,  and  violence,  and  folly,  and  lies 

*  On  this  doctrine  see  Sonntag,  Doctrina  Inspirationis,  etc. ; 
1803,  §  1,  et  seq.  and  the  authors  he  cites.  De  Wette,  Dogmatik, 
§  85-96,  and  §143-148,  gives  the  Old  Testament  doctrine  of 
Inspiration.  See  also  Hase,  Hutterus  redivivus,  §  41,  Dogmatik, 
§8.  Bretschneider,  Dogmatik,  Vol.  I.  §  14,  et  seq.,  and  Baum- 
garten-Crusius,  Dogmengeschichte,  Vol.  II.  p.  775,  et  seq.  Much 
useful  matter  has  been  collected  by  these  writers,  and  by  Miin- 
scher,  Bauer,  Von  Colin  and  fetrauss,  but  a  special  history 
of  the  doctrine  is  still  a  desideratum. 

t  See  the  opinions  of  the  ancients  in  the  classic  passages, 
Cicero  de  Nat.  Deorum,  II.  66.    Orat.  pro.  Arch.  c.  8.    XenO" 


iSO*  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

were  thus  ascribed  to  God.  Still  the  popular  belief 
shows  that  the  human  mind  turns  naturally  in  this  di- 
rection. Each  prophet,  false  or  true,  in  Palestine, 
Nubia,  India,  Greece,  spoke  in  the  name  of  God.  In 
this  name  the  apostles  of  Christ  and  of  Mahomet,  the 
Catholic  and  the  Protestant,  went  to  their  work.*  A 
good  man  feels  that  justice,  goodness,  truth,  are  im- 
mutable, not  dependent  on  himself ;  that  certain  convic- 
tions come  by  a  law  over  which  he  has  no  control. 
There  they  stand,  he  cannot  alter  though  he  may  re- 
fuse to  obey  them.  Some  have  considered  themselves 
bare  tools  in  the  hand  of  God ;  they  did  and  said  they 
knew  not  what,  thus  charging  their  follies  and  sins  on 
Gtxi  most  high.  Others,  going  to  a  greater  degree  of 
insanity,  have  confounded  God  with  themselves,  declar- 
ing that  they  were  God.  But  even  if  likeness  were  per- 
fect, it  is  not  identity.  Yet  a  ray  from  the  primal  light 
falls  on  man.  No  doubt  there  have  been  men  of  a 
high  degree  of  inspiration,  in  all  countries ;  the  found- 
ers of  the  various  religions  of  the  world.  But  they 
have  been  hmited  in  their  gifts,  and  their  use  of  them. 
The  doctrine  they  taught  had  somewhat  national,  tem- 

phon  Memorab.  I.  1.  Seneca,  Epp.  XLI.  See  many  passages 
collected  in  Sonntag.  See  also  Barclay's  Apology  for  the 
Quakers,  Prop.  I.-III.  XI.  Sewell's  History  of  the  Quakers,  B. 
IX.  X.  XI.  XII.  and  p.  693  and  George  Fox's  Journal,  passim. 

*  The  history  of  the  formation  of  the  ecclesiastical  doctrine 
of  inspiration,  which  is  the  Supernatural  View,  is  curious.  It 
did  not  assume  its  most  exclusive  shape  in  the  early  teachers. 
In  John  of  Damascus  it  appears  in  its  vigor.  In  Abelard  and 
Peter  Lombard,  it  is  more  mild  and  liberal.  Since  the  Refor- 
mation, it  has  been  violently  attacked.  Luther  himself  is  fluctu- 
ating in  his  opinions.  As  men's  eyes  opened  they  would  sepa- 
rate falsehood  from  truth.  The  writings  of  the  English  deists 
had  a  great  influence  in  this  matter.  See  Walch's  Religions- 
Streitigkeiten,  Vol.  V.  ch.  VII.  Strauss  also.  Vol.  I.  §  14,  et 
seq.,  gives  a  brief  and  compendious  account  of  attacks  on  this 
doctrine. 


INSPIRATION  203 

poral,  even  personal,  in  it,  and  so  was  not  the  abso- 
lute religion.  No  man  is  so  great  as  human  nature, 
nor  can  one  finite  being  feed  forever  all  his  brethren. 
So  their  doctrines  were  limited  in  extent  and  duration. 

Now  this  inspiration  is  limited  to  no  sect,  age,  or 
nation.  It  is  wide  as  the  world,  and  common  as  God. 
It  is  not  given  to  a  few  men,  in  the  infancy  of  man- 
kind, to  monopolize  inspiration  and  bar  God  out  of  the 
soul.  You  and  I  are  not  bom  in  the  dotage  and  decay 
of  the  world.  The  stars  are  beautiful  as  in  their 
prime ;  "  the  most  ancient  Heavens  are  fresh  and 
strong ! "  the  bird  merry  as  ever  at  its  clear  heart. 
God  is  still  everywhere  in  nature,  at  the  line,  the  pole, 
in  a  mountain  or  a  moss.  Wherever  a  heart  beats  with 
love ;  where  Faith  and  Reason  utter  their  oracles  there 
also  is  God,  as  formerly  in  the  heart  of  seers  and 
phrophets.  Neither  Gerizim  nor  Jerusalem,  nor  the 
soil  that  Jesus  blessed,  so  holy  as  the  good  man's 
heart;  nothing  so  full  of  God.  This  inspiration  is 
not  given  to  the  learned  alone,  not  to  the  great  and 
wise,  but  to  every  faithful  child  of  God.  The  world 
is  close  to  the  body:  God  closer  to  the  soul,  not  only 
without  but  within,  for  the  all-pervading  current  flows 
into  each.  The  clear  sky  bends  over  each  man,  little 
or  great;  let  him  uncover  his  head,  there  is  nothing 
between  him  and  infinite  space.  So  the  ocean  of  God 
encircles  all  men;  uncover  the  soul  of  its  senuality, 
selfishness,  sin,  there  is  nothing  between  it  and  God, 
who  flows  into  the  man,  as  light  into  the  air.  Certain 
as  the  open  eye  drinks  in  the  light,  do  the  pure  in  heart 
see  God,  and  he  that  lives  truly,  feels  him  as  a  presence 
not  to  be  put  by.* 

*Such  as  like  to  settle  questions  by  authority,  will  see  that 


g04  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

But  this  is  a  doctrine  of  experience  as  much  as 
of  abstract  reasoning.  Every  man  who  has  ever 
prayed  —  prayed  with  the  mind,  prayed  with  the 
heart  greatly  and  strong,  knows  the  truth  of  this  doc- 
trine, welcomed  by  pious  souls.  There  are  hours,  and 
they  come  to  all  men,  when  the  hand  of  destiny  seems 
heavy  upon  us;  when  the  thought  of  time  misspent; 
the  pang  of  affection  misplaced  or  ill-requited;  the 
experience  of  man's  worse  nature  and  the  sense  of  our 
own  degradation,  come  over  us.  In  the  outward  and 
inward  trials,  we  know  not  which  way  to  turn.  The 
heart  faints  and  is  ready  to  perish.  Then  in  the  deep 
silence  of  the  soul ;  when  the  man  turns  inward  to  God, 
light,  comfort,  peace  dawn  on  him.  His  troubles  — 
they  are  but  a  dewdrop  on  his  sandal.  His  enmities 
or  jealousies,  hopes,  fears,  honors,  disgraces,  all  the  un- 
deserved mishaps  of  life,  are  lost  to  the  view;  dimin- 
ished, and  then  hid  in  the  mists  of  the  valley  he  has 
left  behind  and  below  him.  Resolution  comes  over 
him  with  its  vigorous  wing ;  truth  is  clear  as  noon ;  the 
soul  in  faith  rushes  to  its  God.  The  mystery  is  at  an 
end. 

It  is  no  vulgar  superstition  to  say  men  are  inspired 
in  such  times.  They  are  the  seed-time  of  life.  Then 
we  live  whole  years  through  in  a  few  moments,  and 
afterwards,  as  we  journey  on  in  life,  cold  and  dusty, 
and  travel-worn  and  faint,  we  look  to  that  moment  as  a 
point  of  light;  the  remembrance  of  it  comes  over  us 
like  the  music  of  our  home  heard  in  a  distant  land. 
Like  Elisha  in  the  fable,  we  go  long  years  in  the 
strength  thereof.     It  travels  with  us,  a  great  wakening 

this  is  the  doctrine  of  the  more  spiritual  writers  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  especially  of  John  and  Paul.  It  seems  to 
me  this  was  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  himself. 


INSPIRATION  205 

light;  a  pillar  of  fire  in  the  darkness,  to  guide  us 
through  the  lonely  pilgrimage  of  life.  These  hours  of 
inspiration,  like  the  flower  of  the  aloe-tree,  may  be  rare, 
but  are  yet  the  celestial  blossoming  of  man ;  the  result 
of  the  past,  the  prophecy  of  the  future.  They  are  not 
numerous  to  any  man.  Happy  is  he  that  has  ten  such 
in  a  year,  yes,  in  a  lifetime. 

Now  to  many  men,  who  have  but  once  felt  this  — 
when  heaven  lay  about  them,  in  their  infancy,  before 
the  world  was  too  much  with  them,  and  they  laid  waste 
their  powers,  getting  and  spending, —  when  they  look 
back  upon  it,  across  the  dreary  gulf,  where  honor,  vir- 
tue, religion,  have  made  shipwreck  and  perished  with 
their  youth,  it  seems  visionary,  a  shadow,  dream-like, 
unreal.  They  count  it  a  phantom  of  their  inexpe- 
rience ;  the  vision  of  a  child's  fancy,  raw  and  unused  to 
the  world.  Now  they  are  wiser.  They  cease  to  believe 
in  inspiration.  They  can  only  credit  the  saying  of  the 
priests,  that  long  ago  there  were  inspired  men;  but 
none  now;  that  you  and  I  must  bow  our  faces  to  the 
dust,  groping  like  the  blind-worm  and  the  beetle ;  not 
turn  our  eyes  to  the  broad,  free  heaven;  that  we  can- 
not walk  by  the  great  central  and  celestial  light  which 
God  made  to  guide  all  who  come  into  the  world,  but 
only  by  the  farthing-candle  of  tradition,  poor  and 
flickering  light  which  we  get  of  the  priest,  which  casts 
strange  and  fearful  shadows  around  us  as  we  walk,  that 
"  leads  to  bewilder  and  dazzles  to  blind."  Alas  for  us 
if  this  be  alll 

But  can  it  be  so?  Has  infinity  laid  aside  its  omni- 
presence, retreating  to  some  little  corner  of  space  .f^  No. 
The  grass  grows  as  green;  the  birds  chirp  as  gaily; 
the  sun  shines  as  warm ;  the  moon  and  the  stars  walk  in 
their  pure  beauty,  sublime  as  before;  morning  and 


£06  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

evening  have  lost  none  of  their  loveHness;  not  a  jewel 
has  fallen  from  the  diadem  of  night.  God  is  still 
there ;  ever  present  in  matter,  else  it  were  not ;  else  the 
serpent  of  fate  would  coil  him  about  the  all  of  things ; 
would  crush  it  in  his  remorseless  grasp,  and  the  hour  of 
ruin  strike  creation's  knell. 

Can  it  be  then,  as  so  many,  tell  us,  that  God,  tran- 
scending time  and  space,  immanent  in  matter,  has 
forsaken  man ;  retreated  from  the  Shekinah  in  the  holy 
of  holies,  to  the  court  of  the  Gentiles;  that  now  he 
will  stretch  forth  no  aid,  but  leave  his  tottering  child  to 
wander  on,  amid  the  palpable  obscure,  eyeless  and 
fatherless,  without  a  path,  with  no  guide  but  his  feeble 
brother's  words  and  works ;  groping  after  God  if  haply 
he  may  find  him ;  and  learning,  at  last,  that  he  is  but  a 
God  afar  off,  to  be  approached  only  by  mediators  and 
attorneys,  not  face  to  face  as  before?  Can  it  be 
that  thought  shall  fly  through  the  heaven,  his  pinion 
glittering  in  the  ray  of  every  star,  burnished  by  a  mil- 
lion suns,  and  then  come  drooping  back,  with  ruffled 
plume  and  flagging  wing,  and  eye  which  once  looked 
undazzled  on  the  sun ;  now  spiritless  and  cold  —  come 
back  to  tell  us  God  is  no  Father ;  that  he  veils  his  face 
and  will  not  look  upon  his  child ;  his  erring  child  1  No 
more  can  this  be  true.  Conscience  is  still  God-with-us; 
a  prayer  is  deep  as  ever  of  old;  reason  as  true;  re- 
ligion as  blest.  Faith  still  remains  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen. 
Love  is  yet  mighty  to  cast  out  fear.  The  soul  still 
searches  the  deeps  of  God;  the  pure  in  heart  see  him. 
The  substance  of  the  infinite  is  not  yet  exhausted,  nor 
the  well  of  life  drunk  dry.  The  Father  is  near  us  as 
ever,  else  reason  were  a  traitor,  morality  a  hollow  form, 
religion  a  mockery,  and  love  a  hideous  lie.     Now,  as^ 


INSPIRATION  207 

in  the  days  of  Adam,  Moses,  Jesus,  he-that  is  faithful 
to  reason,  conscience,  heart  and  soul,  will,  through 
them,  receive  inspiration  to  guide  him  through  all  his 
prilgrimage. 


BOOK  III 


209 


"Where  there  is  a  great  deal  of  smoke  and  no  clear  flame,  it 
argueth  much  moisture  in  the  matter,  and  yet  it  witnesseth 
certainly  that  there  is  fire  there;  and  therefore  dubious  ques- 
tioning is  a  much  better  evidence,  than  that  senseless  deadness 
which  most  men  take  for  believing.  Men  may  know  nothing  in 
sciences  have  no  doubts."  Leightojt,  cited  by  Coleridge,  Aids  to 
Reflection,  American  edition,   1829,  p.  64. 

"  He  who  begins  by  loving  Christianity  better  than  Truth  will 
proceed  by  loving  his  own  Sect  or  Church,  better  than  Christi- 
anity, and  end  in  loving  himself  better  than  all.'"  Colebidoe, 
ubi.  sap.  p.  64-65. 

"While  everybody  wishes  to  believe  rather  than  examine  and 
decide,  a  just  judgment  is  never  passed  upon  a  matter  of  the 
greatest  importance;  our  opinion  thereof  is  taken  on  trust.  The 
error  of  our  fathers  which  has  fallen  into  our  hands  whirls  us 
us  round  and  drives  us  headlong.  We  are  ruined  by  the  ex- 
ample of  others.  We  shall  be  healed  if  we  separate  from  the 
rabble.  Now  the  people,  in  hostility  with  reason,  stand  up  as 
the  defence  of  what  is  their  own  mischief."  Sekeca,  De  Vita 
heata,  Ch.  I.,  a  free  translation. 


210 


BOOK  III 

THE   RELATION   OF   THE   RELIGIOUS   ELE- 
MENT TO  JESUS  OF  NAZARETH,  OR  A 
DISCOURSE  OF  CHRISTIANITY 


CHAPTER  I 

STATEMENT  OF  THE  QUESTION  AND  THE 
METHOD  OF  INQUIRY 

It  was  said  before,  that  religion,  like  love,  is  always 
the  same  thing  in  kind,  though  both  are  necessarily 
modified  by  other  emotions  combining  therewith,  and 
by  the  conception  of  the  object  to  which  the  emotion 
is  directed.  Thus  love  is  modified  as  it  chances  to 
coexist  with  weakness  or  strength,  folly  or  wisdom, 
selfishness  or  morality, —  qualities  in  the  subject  who 
loves.  By  these  qualities  the  degree  of  love  is  deter- 
mined. It  is  modified  also  by  the  qualities  of  the  ob- 
ject; as  love  is  directed  towards  a  child,  a  wife,  or  a 
friend.  Hence  come  the  different  modifications  of  re- 
ligion as  it  coexists  with  faith  or  fear,  wisdom  or  igno- 
rance, love  or  hate  in  the  worshipping  subject,  and 
again  as  the  object  of  worship,  is  conceived  to  be  one 
being,  or  many  beings,  or  all  being ;  as  it  is  conceived 
of  as  the  absolutely  perfect:  or  represented  as  finite, 
cruel,  capricious,  and  unlovely.  The  only  perfect  form 
of  religion  is  produced  by  all  the  powers  of  a  man's 
nature,  acting  harmoniously  together.  All  manifesta- 
tions of  religion  proceed  from  the  religious  element  in 

^lll 


212  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

man,  and  are,  more  or  less,  imperfect  representations 
of  that  element,  as  its  action  is  more  or  less  impeded  or 
promoted  by  various  causes. 

If  this  be  so,  it  follows  that  the  religious  element  or 
faculty  in  man  bears  the  same  relation  to  each  and  all 
particular  forms  and  teachers  of  religion,  that  reason 
bears  to  each  and  all  particular  systems  or  teachers  of 
philosophy.  That  is,  as  no  one  teacher  or  system  of 
philosophy,  nor  all  teachers  and  systems  taken  together 
have  exhausted  reason,  which  is  the  groundwork  and 
standard-measure  of  them  all,  and  is  represented  more 
or  less  partially  in  each  of  them,  and  therefore 
as  new  teachers  and  new  systems  of  philosophy  are 
always  possible  and  necessary  until  a  system  is  dis- 
covered which  embraces  all  the  facts  of  science,  sets 
forth  and  legitimates  all  the  laws  of  nature,  and  thus 
represents  the  absolute  science,  which  is  implied  in  the 
facts  of  nature,  or  the  ideas  of  God ;  so  no  one  teacher 
or  form  of  religion,  nor  all  teachers  and  forms  put  to- 
gether, have  exhausted  the  religious  faculty,  which  is 
the  groundwork  and  standard-measure  of  them  all, 
and  is  represented  more  or  less  partially  in  each,  and 
so  new  teachers  and  new  forms  of  religion  are  always 
possible  and  necessary,  until  a  form  is  discovered, 
which  embraces  all  the  facts  of  man's  moral  and  re- 
ligious nature,  sets  forth  and  legitimates  all  the  laws 
thereof,  and  thus  represents  the  absolute  religion,  as  it 
is  implied  in  the  facts  of  man's  nature,  or  the  ideas 
of  God.  As  no  systemi  or  teacher  of  philosophy  is 
greater  than  reason,  and  competent  to  give  laws  to 
nature,  but  at  the  utmost  is  only  coordinate  with 
reason,  and  competent  to  discover  and  announce  the 
laws  of  nature  previously  existing;  so  no  form  or 
teacher  of  religion  can  be  greater  than  the  religious 


CHRISTIANITY  213 

element,  and  competent  to  give  laws  to  man,  but  at  the 
utmost  is  only  coordinate  with  the  religious  element, 
and  competent  to  discover  and  announce  the  laws  of 
man  previously  existing.  In  one  word,  absolute  science 
answers  exactly  to  reason,  and  is  what  reason  demands ; 
absolute  religion  answers  exactly  to  the  religious  ele- 
ment, and  is  what  the  religious  element  demands. 
Therefore  until  philosophy  and  religion  attain  the 
absolute,  each  form  or  teacher  of  either  is  subject  to 
be  modified  or  supplanted  by  any  man  who  has  a  truth 
not  embraced  by  the  philosophy  or  religion  at  that 
time  extant.  However,  there  are  certain  primary 
truths  of  science  and  religion,  which  alone  render  the 
two  possible,  and  which  are  possessed  with  more  or  less 
of  a  distinct  understading  by  all  teachers  of  the  two, 
and  attain  greater  prominence  with  some.  Though  a 
system  may  have  many  faults  accidently  connected 
with  it ;  though  others  may  point  out  the  faults  and  de- 
velop the  system  still  further,  yet  the  first  principles 
remain.  Thus  in  science,  the  maxims  of  geometry,  in 
morals  the  first  truths  thereof,  must  reappear  in  all 
the  systems. 

Now  to  make  a  special  application  of  these  general 
remarks:  Christianity  can  be  no  greater  than  the  reli- 
gious faculty,  though  it  may  be  less,  as  the  water  can 
of  itself  rise  no  higher  in  the  pipe  than  in  the  fountain, 
though  if  the  pipe  be  defective  it  may  fail  of  its  former 
height.  Religion  is  the  universal  term;  absolute  reli- 
gion and  morality  its  highest  expression;  Christianity 
is  a  particular  form  under  this  universal  term;  one 
form  of  religion  among  many  others.  It  is  either  ab- 
solute religion  and  morality,  or  it  is  less ;  greater  it  can- 
not be,  as  there  is  no  greater.  Christianity  then  is  a 
form  of  religion.     As  it  is  actual,  it  must  have  been  re- 


£14  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

vealed ;  if  it  is  true  it  must  be  natural.  It  is  therefore 
to  be  examined  and  judged  of  as  other  forms  of  relig- 
ion, by  reason  and  the  religious  element.  It  is  true 
or  false ;  perfect  or  imperfect. 

The  question  then  reduces  itself  to  this.  Is  Chris- 
tianity the  absolute  religion?  To  answer  the  ques- 
tion we  must  know,  first,  what  Christianity  is ;  secondly, 
what  absolute  religion  is.  If  Christianity  is  not  the 
absolute,  we  must  of  course  look  for  a  more  perfect 
manifestation  of  religion,  just  as  we  look  for  improve- 
ments in  science  till  philosophy  becomes  absolute. 
But  if  Christianity  be  this,  or  involve  it,  and  nothing 
contradicts  or  impedes  this,  then  we  can  expect  nothing 
higher  in  religion,  for  there  is  no  higher ;  but  have  only 
to  understand  this,  and  develop  its  principals;  apply- 
ing it  to  life,  in  order  to  attain  perfect  religious  wel- 
fare. 

To  ascertain  what  is  absolute  religion,  is  no  diffi- 
cult matter;  for  religion  is  not  an  external  thing,  like 
astronomy,  to  be  learned  by  long  observation,  and  the 
perfection  of  scientific  instruments  and  algebraic  proc- 
esses; but  something  above  all,  inward  and  natural 
to  man.  As  it  was  said  before,  absolute  religion  is 
perfect  obedience  to  the  law  of  God;  the  service  of 
God  by  the  normal  use,  development,  and  discipline  of 
every  limb  of  the  body,  every  faculty  of  the  spirit; 
perfect  love  towards  God  and  man,  exhibited  in  a  life 
allowing  and  demanding  a  harmonious  action  of  all 
man's  faculties,  so  far  as  they  act  at  all. 

But  to  answer  the  historical  question :  Did  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  teach  absolute  religion?  is  a  matter  vastly 
more  difficult,  which  it  requires  learning,  critical  skiU, 
and  no  little  painstaking  to  make  out.  To  answer  the 
first  question,  What  is  Christianity?  is  a  very  difficult 


CHRISTIANITY  215 

thing.  No  two  men  seem  agreed  about  it;  the  wicked- 
est of  wars  have  been  fought  to  settle  it.  To  answer 
the  query,  are  we  to  take  what  is  popularly  called 
Christianity?  No  Protestant  thinks  the  Christianity 
of  the  Catholic  Church  is  absolute  religion;  nor  will 
the  Catholic  think  better  of  the  Protestant  faith.  A 
pious  man,  free  from  bigotry,  and  capable  of  judging, 
would  surely  make  very  short  work  of  the  question,  and 
decide  that  Christianity,  as  popularly  taught  by  both 
these  churches,  taken  together,  is  not  absolute  rehgion. 
But  we  must  look  deeper  than  Protestantism  and 
popery.  We  must  distinguish  Christianity  from  the 
popular  conceptions  of  Christianity;  from  its  proof 
and  its  form.  To  do  this,  we  must  go  back,  histori- 
cally, to  the  fountainhead,  the  words  of  Jesus.  We 
must  then  take  these  words  in  the  abstract,  separate 
from  any  church ;  apart  from  all  authority,  real  or  pre- 
tended; without  respect  of  any  application  thereof  to 
life,  that  was  made  by  its  founder  or  others.  If  all 
churches  have  believed  it,  if  miracles  have  been  wrought 
in  its  favor,  if  its  application  have  been  good  in  this  or 
that  case,  it  does  not  follow  that  Christianity  is  absolute 
and  final.  The  church  has  been  notoriously  mistaken 
on  many  points.  Miracles  are  claimed  for  Judaism, 
Mahometanism,  and  idolatry:  each  heresy  is  thought 
by  its  followers  to  work  well.  We  must  look  away 
from  all  these  considerations.  If  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
lived  out  his  idea,  and  was  the  greatest  of  saints,  it 
does  not  follow  that  his  idea  was  absolute,  and  there- 
fore final.  If  he  did  not  perfectly  live  it  out,  the  re- 
verse does  not  follow.  The  good  life  of  a  teacher 
proves  nothing  of  any  speculative  doctrine  he  enter- 
tains, either  in  morals  or  mathematics.  A  man  would 
)be  thought  insane  who  should  say  Euclid's  demonstra- 


216  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

tion  of  the  forty-seventh  problem  was  true,  because 
Euclid  lived  a  good  life,  and  raised  men  from  the  dead ; 
or  that  it  was  false,  because  he  lived  a  bad  life,  and 
murdered  his  mother.  If  Christianity  be  the  absolute, 
it  is  independent  of  all  circumstances;  eternally  true, 
as  much  before  its  declaration  as  after  it  is  brought  to 
light  and  applied  to  life.*  Before  its  revelation  it  was 
active,  but  unknown;  afterwards  known  to  be  active. 
To  illustrate  this  point:  the  three  angles  of  a  triangle 
are  equal  to  two  right  angles.  This  is  eternally  true ; 
and  applies  to  all  triangles  that  were,  are,  or  are  to  be 
conceived  of.  It  was  just  as  true  before  any  one  dis- 
covered and  declared  it,  as  afterwards.  Its  truth  de- 
pends not  on  the  fact  that  Thales  or  Stilpo  demon- 
strates the  theorem,  nor  on  the  authority  of  him  who 
asserts  it.  Its  truth  exists  in  the  very  nature  of 
things,  or,  to  use  other  words,  in  the  ideas  of  God. 
It  was  just  the  same  before  creation  as  afterwards. 
Other  things  remaining  the  same,  even  Omnipotence 
cannot  make  these  three  angles  to  be  more  or  less  than 
two  right  angles,  for  Infinite  power  of  course  excludes 
contradictions. 

Now  here  are  two  things:  first,  religion  as  it  exists 
in  the  facts  of  man's  nature,  and  secondly,  religion  as 
taught  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  The  first  must  be  eter- 
nally true.  But  it  follows  from  no  premise  that  the 
second  is  eternally  true.  He  may  have  taught  absolute 
religion,  or  an  imperfect  form;  he  may  have  omitted 
what  was  essential,  or  have  added  what  was  national, 
temporal,  personal.     In  either  case  Christianity  is  not 

*  See  this  point  touched  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  The  Previous 
Question  between  Mr.  Andrews  Norton  and  his  Alumni,  moved 
and  handled,  by  Levi  Blodgett."  [By  Theodore  Parker  himself.] 
Boston,  1840. 


CHRISTIANITY  217 

the  absolute  religion.  But  if  it  haye  none  of  these 
faults,  and  really  conforms  with  this  ideal  standard,  or 
involves  this,  and  if  nothing  therein  contradicts  it,  then 
Christianity  is  the  absolute  religion ;  eternally  true,  be- 
fore revelation,  after  revelation ;  the  law  God  made  for 
man,  and  wrote  in  his  nature. 

Then  again  if  the  character  of  Jesus  was  not  a  per- 
fect manifestation  of  this  perfect  religion  which  he 
taught  or  implied;  if  his  application  of  it  to  life  was 
limited  by  his  position,  his  youth,  his  indiscretion,  fa- 
naticism, prejudice,  ignorance,  selfishness,  as  some  have 
contended,  it  does  not  make  the  religion  he  taught  any, 
the  less  perfect  in  itself;  if  true  at  all  it  is  eternally 
true.  If  Christianity  be  true  at  all,  it  would  be  just  as 
true  if  Herod  or  Catiline  had  taught  it.  Therefore  if 
the  intellectual  character  of  Jesus  had  never  so  many 
defects,  if  he  entertained  false  notions  about  himself, 
his  office,  ministry,  destination;  respecting  ancient  his- 
tory and  Jewish  literature;  the  existence  and  agency, 
of  devils,  and  in  general,  respecting  things  past, 
present,  and  to  come;  if  he  entertained  the  absurdest 
notions  at  the  same  time  with  his  pure  doctrine; 
nay,  if  he  had  never  so  many  moral  deficiencies,  if  he 
denounced  his  enemies,  and  was  frighted  at  danger, 
and  fled  away  from  death,  or  had  even  recanted  his 
most  vigorous  statements,  still  his  religious  doctrine 
would  remain  unaffected  by  all  of  these  circumstances. 
To  make  this  point  clear  by  recurring  to  a  former  il- 
lustration, a  philosopher  may  show  that  the  three  angles 
of  a  triangle  are  equal  to  two  right  angles,  yet  lead  an 
immoral  life,  believe  in  witches,  devils,  the  philopher's 
stone,  and  imputed  righteousness.  His  absurd  belief 
and  wicked  life  do  not  affect  the  truth  of  his  theorem. 

Now  then  to  determine  what  Christianity  is,  we  must 


218  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

remove  all  those  extraneous  matters  relating  to  the  per- 
son, character,  and  authority  of  him  who  first  taught 
it;  we  must  now  separate  it  from  all  applications 
thereof  which  have  been  made  to  life;  must  view  it  by 
itself,  as  doctrine,  as  life ;  and  measure  it  by  this  ideal 
standard  of  absolute  religion.  After  we  have  de- 
termined this  question,  we  may  then  judge  of  the  ap- 
plications of  Christianity  to  life ;  of  the  character  of 
its  revealer,  and  try  both  by  the  standard  he  offers. 


CHAPTER  II 

REMOVAL  OF  SOME  DIFFICULTIES.     CHAR- 
ACTER OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  RECORDS 

The  method  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  absolute 
religion  is  plain  and  easy,  but  to  get  a  knowledge  of 
the  doctrine  taught  by  any  teacher  of  ancient  times  is 
more  difficult.  This,  however,  may  be  said  in  general, 
that  there  are  three  sources  of  knowledge  accessible  to 
men,  two  of  these  are  direct,  and  one  indirect.  First, 
perception  through  the  senses ;  by  this  we  only  get  an 
acquaintance  with  material  things  and  their  properties. 
Second,  intuition  through  intellect,  conscience,  the 
religious  faculty,  by  which  we  get  an  acquaintance  with 
spiritual  things,  which  are  not  objects  of  sense.  Third, 
reflection,  a  mental  process,  by  which  we  unfold  what 
is  contained  or  implied  or  suggested  in  perceptions  or 
intuitions.  Then  as  a  secondary,  but  not  ultimate 
source,  there  is  testimony,  by  which  we  learn  what 
others  have  found  out,  through  perception,  intuition, 
or  reflection.  Now  thoughts  or  objects  of  thought  may, 
be  classified  in  reference  to  their  sources.  The  truths 
of  absolute  religion  are  not  matters  of  sense,  it  is  plain. 
If  objects  of  reflection  or  intuition,  they  must  be  ob- 
vious to  all  who  have  the  intuitive  or  reflective  faculty, 
and  will  use  it.  They  therefore  are  matters  of  direct 
personal  experience;  not  so  a  knowledge  of  any  given 
historical  form  of  religion.  As  it  has  been  before  said, 
the  great  truths  of  religion  are  matters  of  spontaneous 
intuition,  and  then  of  voluntary  reflection,  God  help- 
ing the  faithful,  who  use  their  faculties  justly.     There- 

^19 


220  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

fore,  theoretically,  each  may  depend  on  his  own  intui- 
tions, and  reflections.  The  aid,  the  counsel,  the  ex- 
ample of  good  men  help  us  to  the  truth.  The  wise  and 
the  pious  are  the  educators  whom  God  appoints  for  the 
race.  By  their  superior  gift,  they  help  feebler  men  to 
understand,  what  else  the  latter  might  never  have 
reached.  The  same  rule  holds  good  in  both  philosophy 
and  religion ;  the  weak  need  the  help  of  the  strong ; 
youth  of  experience;  the  faithless  of  the  faithful. 
Even  the  experience  of  wicked  men  is  an  element  of 
human  progression,  a  warning  light.  The  works  and 
words  of  the  saint  help  the  sinner  to  the  source  of  truth. 
This  is  the  office  of  prophets  and  apostles. 

In  historical  questions,  respecting  events  that  took 
place  out  of  the  sphere  of  our  observation,  we  must  de- 
pend on  the  testimony  of  others  who  report  what  they 
have  seen  and  heard,  felt  or  thought.  To  determine 
what  Jesus  taught,  we  must  depend  on  the  testimony 
of  the  evangelists,  who  profess  to  relate  his  works  and 
words,  and  the  Apostles,  who  reduced  his  thought  to 
organization  and  applied  it  to  life.  To  speak  of  the 
four  evangelists  —  admitting,  for  the  sake  of  the  argu- 
ment, that  we  have  their  evidence,  that  the  books  in  our 
hands  come  really  from  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and 
John,  and  that  they  bore  the  relation  to  Jesus  which 
they  claim  ;  the  question  comes :  —  Are  they  compe- 
tent to  testify  in  the  case?  Can  we  trust  them  to  give 
us  the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth  ?  Admit- 
ting they  were  honest,  yet  if  they  were  but  men,  there 
must  be  limitations  to  the  accuracy  of  their  testimony. 
They  must  omit  many  things  that  Jesus  said  and  did, 
perhaps  both  actions  and  words  important  in  estimating 
his  doctrines.  They  can  express  only  so  much  of  their 
teacher's  opinions  as  they  know ;  to  do  this  they  might 


CHRISTIANITY  S21 

perhaps  modify,  at  least  color,  the  doctrine  in  their  own 
mind.  They  might  sometimes  misunderstand  what 
they  heard;  mistake  a  general  for  a  particular  state- 
ment, and  the  reverse;  a  new  doctrine  of  the  teacher 
might  accidently  coincide  in  part  with  an  old  doctrine, 
and  he  be  supposed  to  teach  what  he  did  not  teach ;  a 
parable  or  an  action  might  be  misunderstood ;  a  quota- 
tion misapplied  or  forgotten,  and  another  put  in  its 
place ;  a  general  prediction,  wish,  or  hope  referred  to  a 
specific  time,  or  event,  when  it  had  no  such  reference. 
He  may  have  merely  allowed  things  which  he  was 
afterwards  supposed  to  have  commanded.  The  writers 
might  unconsciously  exaggerate  or  diminish  the  fact; 
they  might  get  intelligence  at  second-hand,  from  hear- 
say and  popular  rumor.  Their  national,  sectarian, 
personal  prejudices  must  color  their  narrative.  They 
might  confound  their  own  notions  with  his,  and  repre- 
sent them  as  teaching  what  he  did  not  teach.  They 
might  not  separate  fact  from  fancy.  Their  love  of 
the  marvellous  might  lead  them^  astray.  If  they  be- 
lieved in  miracles  they  would  easily  incline  to  ascribe 
prodigious  things  to  their  teacher.  Had  they  a  faith 
in  ghosts  and  devils,  they  would  naturally  interpret  his 
words  in  favor  of  their  own  notions,  rather  than  in  op- 
position thereto.  If  the  writers  were  ignorant  men; 
if  they  wrote  in  one  language  and  he  spoke  in  another ; 
yet  more,  if  they  wrote  at  some  distance  of  time  from 
the  events,  and  were  not  skilled  in  sifting  rumors  and 
separating  fact  from  fiction,  the  difficulty  becomes  still 
greater. 

These  defects  are  common,  more  or  less,  to  all  histori- 
cal testimony.  In  the  case  of  the  evangelists,  they  con- 
stitute a  very  serious  difficulty.  We  know  the  char- 
acter of  the  writers  only  from  themselves;  they  relate 


A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

much  from  hearsay ;  they  continually  mingle  their  own 
personal  prejudices  in  their  work;  their  testimony  was 
not  reduced  to  writing,  so  far  as  we  know,  till  long  after 
the  event;  we  see  that  they  were  often  mistaken,  and 
did  not  always  understand  the  words  or  actions  of  their 
teacher;  that  they  contradict  one  another,  and  even 
themselves;  that  they  mingle  with  their  story  puerile 
notions  and  tales  which  it  is  charitable  to  call  absurd; 
that  they  do  not  write  for  a  purely  historical  purpose, 
relating  facts  as  they  were,  but  with  a  doctrinal,  or  con- 
troversial aim.  Such  testimony  could  not  be  received 
if  found  in  Valerius  Maximus  and  Livy,  or  offered  in 
a  court  of  justice  when  only  a  few  dollars  were  at 
stake,  without  great  caution. 

Now  the  difficulty  in  this  case  is  enormous.  It  has 
been  felt  from  an  early  age.  To  get  rid  of  the  evil,  it 
has  been  tought,  and  even  believed,  that  the  evangelists 
and  Apostles  were  miraculously  inspired  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  they  could  commit  no  mistake  of  any  kind  in 
this  matter,  and  had  none  of  the  defects  above  hinted 
at.  The  assumption  is  purely  gratuitous:  there  is  not 
a  fact  on  which  to  base  it.  The  writers  themselves 
never  claim  it.  From  the  doctrine  of  inspiration  as 
before  laid  down,  it  appears  that  such  infallibility  is 
not  possible;  from  an  examination  of  the  facts  of  the 
case,  it  appears  that  it  was  not  actual ;  the  evangelists 
differ  widely  from  the  Apostles ;  the  synoptics  *  give  us 
in  Jesus  a  very  different  being  from  the  Christ  whom 
John  describes,  and  all  four  make  such  contradictory 
statements  on  some  points,  as  to  show  they  were  by  no 
means  infallibly  inspired ;  for  in  that  case  not  only  the 
smallest  contradiction  would  have  been  impossible,  but 
without  concert,  they  must  all  have  written  exactly  the 

*  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke. 


CHRISTIANITY  ^23 

same  thing,  yet  John  omits  the  most  surprising  facts, 
the  synoptics  the  most  surprising  doctrines. 

What  has  been  said  is  sufficient  to  show  that  we 
must  proceed  with  great  caution  in  accepting  the  state- 
ments of  the  Gospels.  The  most  careless  observer  dis- 
covers inconsistencies,  absurd  narrations ;  finds  actions 
attributed  to  Jesus,  and  words  put  in  his  mouth,  which 
are  directly  at  variance  with  his  great  principles,  and 
the  general  tone  of  his  character.  Still  there  must  have 
been  a  foundation  of  fact  for  such  a  superstructure ;  a 
great  spirit  to  have  commenced  such  a  movement  as 
the  Christian;  a  great  doctrine  to  have  accomplished 
this,  the  most  profound  and  wondrous  revolution  in 
human  affairs.  We  must  conclude  that  these  writers 
would  describe  the  main  features  of  his  life,  and  set 
down  the  great  principles  of  his  doctrine,  its  most 
salient  points,  and  his  most  memorable  sayings,  such 
as  were  poured  out  in  the  highest  moments  of  inspira- 
tion. If  the  teacher  were  true,  these  sayings  would 
involve  all  the  rest  of  his  doctrine,  which  any  man  of 
simple  character,  religious  heart,  and  mind  free  from 
prejudice,  could  unfold  and  develop  still  further.  The 
condition  and  nature  of  the  Christian  records  will  not 
allow  us  to  go  further  than  this,  and  be  curious  in  par- 
ticulars. Their  legendary  and  mythical  character  does 
not  warrant  full  confidence  in  their  narrative.  There 
are  certain  main  features  of  doctrine  in  which  the 
evangelists  and  the  apostles  all  agree,  though  they 
differ  in  most  other  points.* 

*  The  character  of  the  record  is  such  that  I  see  not  how  any 
stress  can  be  laid  on  each  particular  action  attributed  to  Jesus. 
That  he  lived  a  divine  life,  suffered  a  violent  death,  taught  and 
lived  a  most  true  and  beautiful  religion,  this  seems  the  great 
fact  about  which  a  mass  of  truth  and  error  has  been  collected. 
That  he  should  gather  disciples,  be  opposed  by  the  Priests  and 


^24  A  DISCOURSE  OP  RELIGION 

Pharisees,  have  controversies  with  them  —  this  lay  in  the  nature 
of  things.  His  loftiest  sayings  seem  to  me  the  most  likely  to  be 
genuine.  The  great  stress  laid  on  the  Person  of  Jesus  by  his 
followers,  shows  what  the  person  must  have  been.  They  put  the 
Person  before  the  thing,  the  fact  above  the  Idea.  But  it  is  not 
about  vulgar  men  that  such  mythical  stories  are  told.  See 
Paulus,  Leben  Jesu;  1828.  Furness,  Jesus  and  his  Biographers. 
Strauss,  Leben  Jesu;  4th  ed.  1840.  English  Tr.  of  Strauss; 
1846.  Hase,  Leben  Jesu;  3d  ed.  1840.  Theile,  Zur  Biographic 
Jesu;  1837.  Weisse,  Evangelische  Geschichte;  1838.  Gfrorer, 
Urchristenthum,  etc.;  1836.  Hennel,  Inquiry  concerning  the 
Origin  of  Christianity;  Lond.  1838.  Harwood,  German  Anti- 
supernaturalism ;  Lond.  1840.  See  the  voluminous  replies  to 
Strauss  by  Tholuck,  Neander,  Ebrard,  Lange,  Harless,  etc.  etc. 
See  the  valuable  paper  of  Dr.  Kling  on  recent  Apologetic 
Literature  of  the  N.  T.  in  Stud,  und  Krit.  for  Oct  1846,  p. 
953,  et  seq.  Norton,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  [appendix]  p.  cliv., 
considers  it  an  "unquestionable  fact,  that  the  words  of  our 
Saviour  are  not  always  reported  with  perfect  correctness." 
See  too  p.  CLXII.  CXCIII.  and  Vol.  I.  p.  LIX.  LXL,  et  seq. 

See  the  recent  works  of  Ewald,  F.  C.  Baur,  Kostlin, 
Schwegler,  Zeller,  Hilgenfeld,  Anger,  Lekebusch,  Luthardt, 
Meyer,  Lechler,  Hase,  Ritschl,  Volckmar,  and  Norton,  on  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  this  subject.  Zeller's  Theologische  Jahrbii- 
cher  (Tub.  1842,  et  seq.),  and  Ewald's  Jahrbiicher  der  Bi- 
blischen  Wissenschaft  (Gott.  1849,  et  seq.),  abound  in  valuable 
materials.  The  new  edition  of  the  Clementine  Homilies 
(Dressell,  Gott.  1853),  containing  matter  not  published  before, 
and  the  various  books  of  Bunsen,  Baur,  Petermann,  Cureton, 
and  others,  relating  to  the  Ignatian  writings,  and  the  work 
ascribed  to  Hippolytus,  with  the  controversial  writings  thereon, 
all  throw  light  on  the  subjects  of  this  chapter. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   RELIGIOUS  AND   THEOLOGICAL  DOC- 
TRINES OF  JESUS 

It  is  quite  plain  to  all  impartial  students,  that  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  did  not  teach  that  complicated  system  of 
theological  doctrines  now  called  "Christianity : "  that 
is  the  growth  of  the  ages  after  him.  But  yet  it  is  not 
easy,  or  perhaps  possible,  to  determine  what  doctrines 
he  taught  on  all  important  matters.  For  when  we  turn 
away  from  the  sects  of  the  Christian  church,  we  find  it 
difficult  to  obtain  the  exact  words  of  Jesus  himself. 

There  are  two  collections  of  ancient  documents 
which  relate  to  his  life  and  teachings  —  the  canonical, 
and  the  apocryphal  gospels.  The  two  agree  in  their 
common  reverence  for  Jesus,  and  their  mythological 
treatment  of  his  life,  differing  only  in  degree  not  kind. 
Neither  collection  consists  of  simple  historical  docu- 
ments. The  apocryphal  gospels  are  of  small  value  for 
our  present  purpose,  though  highly  important  monu- 
ments of  the  age  when  such  weeds  grew  out  of  the  soil 
deeply  ploughed  by  revolution:  they  are  a  wild  growth 
of  fancy  and  rehgious  zeal,  yet  bear  doubtless  some 
historic  flowers.* 

Of  the  canonical  gospels,  after  impartial  study,  we 

*  See  them  in  the  collections  of  Fabricius,  Codex  Apocryphus, 
N.  T.  3  vols.  8vo.;  Hamb.  1719.  Thilo,  Codex  Apoc.  N.  T.  vol. 
I.;  Lips.  1832.  Tischendorf,  De  Evang.  Apoc.  Origine  et  Usu; 
Hag.  Com.  1851.  Evang.  Apoc;  Lips.  1853.  Acta  Apostol. 
Apoc.;  ib.  1851.  See  also  Hoffman,  Das  Leben  Jesu  nach  den 
Apocryphen;  Leip.  1851.  And  see  who  will,  Gesch.  des  Rabbi 
Jeschua  Ben  Josef  hanootsri;  Altona,  1853.  See  Fabricius, 
Codex  Pseudepig.  V,  T.  2  vol.  8vo.;  Hamb.  1724. 
Ill— 15  225_ 


^26  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

must  reject  the  fourth,  as  of  scarcely  any  historical 
value.  It  appears  to  have  been  written  more  than  a 
hundred  years  after  the  birth  of  Jesus,  by  an  unknown 
author,  who  had  a  controversial  and  dogmatic  purpose 
in  view,  not  writing  to  report  facts  as  they  were ;  so  he 
invents  actions  and  doctrines  to  suit  his  aim,  and 
ascribes  them  to  Jesus  with  no  authority  for  so  doing. 
Yet  this  gospel,  ascribed  to  John,  one  of  the  sons  of 
thunder  who  appears  in  actual  history,  is  full  of  deep 
religious  feeling  and  thought  —  in  this  its  value  con- 
sists, not  at  all  in  its  report  of  matters-of-fact. 

We  come  to  the  synoptics ;  it  is  by  no  means  clear 
when  they  were  written,  by  whom,  or  with  what  docu- 
mentary materials  of  history:  most  conflicting  results 
are  rested  in  by  diff^erent  scholars.  Fact  and  fiction  are 
mingled  together  in  all  these  three  gospels  as  in  the 
apocryphal.  Calling  them  by  the  names  of  their 
alleged  authors,  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  the  first  seems 
to  be  the  oldest  of  all;  Luke  appears  to  come  next  in 
order;  while  Mark  mediates  between  the  two.  But 
some  critics  place  Mark  before  Luke  in  time. 

These  three  follow  the  same  general  tradition  re- 
specting the  life,  actions,  and  doctrines  of  Jesus, 
wherein  they  diff*er  widely  and  irreconcilably  from 
John.  But  the  individual  differences  between  the  ac- 
counts of  Matthew  and  Luke  are  equally  remarkable 
and  irreconcilable.  In  Matthew  Jesus  forbids  his 
disciples  to  visit  the  Gentiles  or  the  Samaritans,  while 
in  Luke  he  does  miracles  in  Samaria ;  and  the  model  of 
Christian  excellence  was  found  in  that  despised  land. 
Luke  relates  the  story  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  and  the 
Prodigal  Son  —  both  probably  founded  on  facts  well 
known  at  the  time  —  which  Matthew  fails  to  report, 
and  which  Mark  also  neglects  to  copy  into  his  compro- 


CHRISTIANITY  ^n 

mising  gospel.  If  these  two  grand  lessons  of  religion 
came  from  Jesus,  as  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt, 
then  what  can  be  said  for  the  historic  fairness,  or  the 
competence,  of  the  two  biographers  who  omit  such 
important  facts?  Either  that  they  were  grossly  ig- 
norant of  his  doctrines,  or  else  culpably  unjust.  If 
Luke  invented  these  noble  passages,  then  the  blame 
rests  on  him  for  violating  the  truth  of  history  by  put- 
ting their  beauty  and  sublimity  upon  one  who  had  no 
claim  thereto. 

These  facts  show  the  difficulty  of  reconstructing  the 
doctrines  of  Jesus;  for  if  one  gospel  be  taken  as  the 
historic  standard,  then  much  of  the  others  must  be 
thrown  away.  The  results  attained  will  depend  on  the 
subjective  peculiarities  of  the  inquirer,  and  so  have  the 
uncertainty  of  mere  opinion,  not  the  stability  of  his- 
toric knowledge.  Even  Matthew  presents  us  with  pas- 
sages so  inconsistent  that  the  fragmentary  character 
of  this  old  gospel  becomes  clear  to  the  careful 
scholar.* 

Jesus,  a  young  man  full  of  genius  for  religion, 
seems  to  have  begun  his  public  career  with  the  narrow 
aim  of  reforming  Judaism.  He  would  put  all  hu- 
man piety  and  morality  into  the  venerable  forms  of 
Jewish  tradition.  He  came  not  to  destroy  but  to  fulfil 
the  Mosaic  law ;  that  was  eternal ; —  his  followers  were 
to  observe  and  teach  all  the  customs  of  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees;  the  sick  man  on  recovery  must  offer  the 
Levitical  sacrifice.  Like  John  the  Baptist  he  preaches 
the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven.  He  would  not  labor  for  mankind  but  only 
for  the  children  of  Israel  —  for  it  is  not  meet  to  give 

*  Hilgenfeld  tries  to  make  out  two  main  documents  which 
form  the  bulk  of  this  Gospel,  p.  106,  et  seq. 


228  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

the  dogs  the  children's  bread.  But  as  he  went  on  he 
found  his  new  wine  of  piety  and  humanity  burst  the 
old  wine-skins  of  Judaism;  the  old  garments  which 
scribes  and  Pharisees  had  inherited  from  dead 
prophets  could  not  be  patched  with  new  philanthropy, 
and  the  nation  be  thereby  clothed  withal.  He  gradu- 
ally breaks  with  Judaism,  neglects  the  ceremonial  fast, 
violates  the  Sabbath,  speaks  evil  of  the  clerical  digni- 
ties —  they  are  covered  pits  in  the  highway,  whereinto 
men  fall  and  perish.  He  claims  himself  to  be  the 
Messiah;  John  the  Baptist  was  the  Elias  who  was  to 
come  and  make  ready.  He  had  political  plans  that  lie 
there  indistinctly  seen  through  the  mythic  cloud  which 
wraps  the  whole.  He  reaches  beyond  Judea  to  Sama- 
ria at  least,  perhaps  to  other  nations,  and  develops 
his  religious  scheme  more  freely  than  at  first. 

Religion  is  no  longer  fettered  by  conventional  re- 
straint; it  is  love  to  God,  love  to  man:  on  this  hang 
all  the  law  and  the  prophets.  There  must  be  no  re- 
venge, but  continual  forgiveness,  seventy  times  seven. 
In  the  next  stage  of  life  a  man's  eternal  condition  de- 
pends wholly  on  his  natural  morality  and  humanity  in 
this.*  His  commands  and  requisitions  related  to 
moral  conduct,  not  belief  or  liturgical  ceremonies ;  God 
preferring  goodness  to  sacramental  forms.f  He 
puts  the  substance  of  religion  before  its  accidents,  and 
utters  magnificent  beautitudes  of  piety  and  humanity. 

But  he  does  not  appear  to  have  been  conscious  of 
the  infinite  perfection  of  God,  for  though  he  calls  him 
our  Father,  and  insists  on  absolute  love  for  God,  which 
certainly  seems  to  imply  a  feeling  of  his  perfection, 
yet  he  considers  God  so  imperfect  as  to  damn  the  ma- 

*  Math.  XXII.  34-40,  XXV.  14-30,  34-46,  et  al.  and  paraUels. 
t  Math.  IX.    13,   XXIII.    23,   et   passim. 


CHRISTIANITY  229 

jority  of  men  to  eternal  torment.*  Beside  God  he 
places  a  devil  absolutely  evil,  the  adversary  of  God 
and  enemy  of  man.  Hell  is  eternal,  and  the  wide  road 
thereto  is  travelled  well. 

He  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  spoken  of  by  the  writ- 
ers of  the  Old  Testament,  John  the  Baptist,  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  him,  was  equal  to  the  greatest  of  men, 
but  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was  greater 
than  John.  Men  must  believe  that  he  is  the  Messiah, 
and  confess  him  before  men  or  suffer  future  torment; 
in  the  day  of  judgment  the  cities  which  rejected  his 
claim  would  fare  worse  than  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
while  men  who  believed  and  followed  him  would  have 
immense  power  and  glory. f  A  great  crisis,  or  revolu- 
tion, is  soon  to  take  place,  and  the  son  of  man  is  to  es- 
tablish the  kingdom  of  heaven;  the  time  is  near  but 
yet  still  uncertain;  he  himself  knows  not  the  day  and 
hour.:}:  But  he  is  already  highly  exalted,  greater  than 
the  Sabbath  and  the  Temple,  all  things  are  given  to 
him  by  the  father  whom  he  alone  knows,  and  by  whom 
he  is  directly  known.  § 

In  this  new  state  of  things  all  temporal  and  material 
cares  are  to  cease,  so  he  bids  men  not  lay  up  treas- 
ures on  earth,  but  only  in  Heaven ;  to  take  no  thought 
for  life  what  they  should  eat,  or  drink,  or  wherewithal 
be  clad ;  for  if  they  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and 
its  righteousness  all  these  things  will  be  added,  and 
they  be  fed  like  the  wild  birds,  and  clothed  as  the  lilies 
are.  If  God  care  for  grass  and  sparrows  so  will  he 
much  more  for  them,  and  give  good  things  to  such  as 

*  Math.  XXV.  46,  VII.  13-14,  XIII.  37-42,  49-^50,  et  al. 
tMath.X.    32-35,    37-39,    XI.     20-24,    XVI.     14-20,    24-28, 
XIX.  27-30,  et  al.  parallels. 

1:Math.X.  5-15,  23-34,  XXIV.  et  al. 

§  Math.  XII.  1-8,  XI.  25-27,  et  al.  parallels. 


S30  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

ask  him.*  If  brought  to  trial  before  magistrates  for 
attempting  to  estabhsh  this  kingdom,  thej  must  take 
no  thought  for  defense,  for  it  will  be  given  them  at  the 
moment  what  they  shall  say ;  it  is  not  they  but  God  who 
speaks,  only  through  them. 

Yet  spite  of  these  obvious  defects  in  his  scheme  of 
doctrine,  which  ought  not  to  astonish  us  or  to  be  de- 
nied, there  is  such  a  deep,  fresh,  manly  piety  in  his 
teachings,  such  love  for  man  under  all  circumstances, 
poor,  oppressed,  despised,  and  sinful,  as  we  find  no- 
where else  in  the  whole  compass  of  antiquity.  God  is 
a  father  even  to  the  prodigal,  goes  out  after  him,  falls 
on  his  neck  with  welcoming  delight  that  the  lost  is 
found,  and  the  dead  come  back  alive  once  more.  Men 
are  to  be  brothers,  each  neighbor  to  all  mankind:  the 
greatest  is  to  serve  the  least ;  even  enemies  be  for- 
given seventy  times  seven,  and  prayed  for  spite  of  their 
active  cursing.  According  to  one  biographer,  on  the 
cross  he  prayed  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know 
not  what  they  do." 

But  this  synoptical  doctrine  alone  was  felt  to  be  in- 
adequate to  the  wants  of  man;  so  many  other  gospels 
were  written  which  were  variously  received  and  found 
acceptance  with  the  great  writers  of  the  Christian 
church  till  the  third  and  fourth  century,  f  The  fourth 
canonical  gospel  contains  much  which  is  fair  and  good 
but  utterly  foreign  to  the  other  three;  yet  while  free 
from    Jewish    limitation    other    new    restrictions    are 

♦Math.  VI.  19-21,  24-34,  VII.  7-11,  XVIII.  18-19,  XIX. 
21-24. 

t  See  how  they  were  used  by  Tatian,  whose  Diatessaron  was  a 
Diapente,  Justin  Martyr,  Ignatius,  the  Clements  of  Rome  and 
Alexandria,  Origen,  etc.  The  lost  work  of  Papias  would  doubt- 
less settle  many  curious  questions.  See  Credner's  Beitrage,  and 
Ewald  in  his  Jahrbucher,  B.  V.  p.  62,  et  seq. 


CHRISTIANITY  ^31 

therein  put  on  the  free  development  of  religion:  men 
must  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  and  the  Logos. 
No  doubt  the  teaching  of  Jesus  in  the  synoptics  was 
thought  too  external  and  exclusively  practical  by  some ; 
and  the  fourth  gospel,  with  divers  others,  was  written! 
to  supply  a  conscious  want.  The  Epistles  of  Paul  be- 
tray the  same  thing. 

To  sum  up  the  main  points  of  the  matter  more 
briefly ;  in  an  age  of  gross  wickedness,  among  a  people 
arrogant,  and  proud  of  their  descent  from  Abraham  — - 
a  mythological  character  of  some  excellence;  wedded 
to  the  ritual  law,  which  they  professed  to  have  re- 
ceived, by  miracle  from  God,  through  Moses  —  another 
and  greater  mythological  hero  —  in  a  nation  of  mono^ 
theists,  haughty  yet  cunning,  morose,  jealous,  vindic- 
tive, loving  the  little  corner  of  space,  called  Judea, 
above  all  the  rest  of  the  world ;  fancying  themselves  the 
"  chosen  people  "  and  special  favorites  of  God ;  in  the 
midst  of  a  nation  wedded  to  their  forms,  sunk  in  ig- 
norance, precipitated  into  sin,  and,  still  more,  expect- 
ing a  deliverer,  who  would  repel  their  political  foes, 
reunite  the  scattered  children  of  Jacob,  and  restore 
them  to  power,  conquer  all  nations,  reestablish  the  for- 
mal service  of  the  temple  in  all  its  magnificent  pomp, 
and  exalt  Jerusalem  above  all  the  cities  of  the  earth 
forever, —  amid  all  this,  and  the  opposition  it  raised  to 
a  spiritual  man,  Jesus  fell  back  on  the  moral  and  reli- 
gious sentiment  in  man;  uttered  manifold  oracles  of 
humanity,  as  the  infinite  spoke  in  his  noble  soul ;  stirred 
men  to  deep  emotions;  laid  down  some  principles  of 
conduct  wide  as  the  soul  of  man  and  true  as  eternal 
God ;  taught  a  form  of  religion, —  piety  and  morality, 
—  far  before  any  thing  known  then  to  the  world  of 


232  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

men;  but  yet  mistook  himself  for  that  miraculous  and 
impossible  deliverer  of  his  nation  whom  the  people 
waited  for  in  vain. 

In  an  age  full  of  vengeance  he  makes  love  the  pivotal 
principle  which  all  things  must  turn  upon.  Take  one 
example  as  it  stands  in  the  synoptics.  A  man  asks 
what  he  shall  do  to  fulfil  the  idea  of  man,  and  have 
"  eternal  life?  "  He  bids  him  keep  the  moral  law, 
written  eternally  in  the  nature  of  man ;  specifies  some 
of  its  plainest  prohibitions,  and  adds.  Love  your  neigh- 
bor as  yourself.  When  asked  the  greatest  command- 
ment of  the  law,  he  thus  sums  up  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets  also:  "Thou  shalt  love  the  lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 
Here  is  the  sum  of  religious  doctrine.  He  gives  the 
highest  aim  for  man :  Be  perfect  as  God.  He  declares 
the  blessedness*,  present  and  eternal,  of  such  as  do  the 
will  of  God.  The  spirit  of  God  shall  be  in  them,  re- 
vealing truth;  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  be  theirs. 

He  gives  no  extended  formi  of  his  views  in  theology, 
anthropology,  politics,  or  philosophy.  But  the  great 
truth  of  God's  goodness,  and  man's  spiritual  nature, 
are  implied  in  all  his  teachings.  He  says  little  of  the 
immortality  of  the  soul ;  much  less  than  some  "  Hea- 
thens "  before  him ;  but  it  is  everywhere  implied.  As 
the  doctrine  was  familiar,  he  dwells  little  upon  it. 

It  is  vain  to  deny,  or  attempt  to  conceal,  the  errors 
in  his  doctrine, —  a  revengeful  God,  a  devil  absolutely 
evil,  an  eternal  hell,  a  speedy  end  of  the  world ;  but  the 
actual  superiority  of  the  mode  of  religion  he  taught, 
its  sublime  faith  in  God,  its  profound  humanity,  seem 
also  as  clear  as  the  noonday  sun. 

Such,  then,  is  the  religious  doctrine  of  Jesus.     It 


CHRISTIANITY  ^33 

was  always  taught  with  direct  application  to  life;  not 
as  science,  but  as  daily  duty.  Love  oi  God  was  no  ab- 
straction. It  implied  love  of  wisdom,  justice,  purity, 
goodness,  holiness,  charity.  To  love  these  is  to  love 
God;  to  love  them  is  to  live  them.  It  implies  abhor- 
rence of  evil  for  its  own  sake ;  a  desire  and  effort  to  be 
perfect  as  God,  to  tolerate  no  wrong  action,  wrong 
thought,  or  wrong  feeling;  to  make  the  heart  right, 
the  head  right,  the  hand  right ;  to  serve  God,  not  with 
the  lips  alone,  but  the  life,  not  only  in  Jerusalem  and 
Gerizim,  but  everywhere;  not  by  tithing  mint,  anise, 
and  cumin,  but  by  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith ;  not  by 
saying  "  Lord,  lord,"  "  Save  us,  good  lord,"  but  by 
doing  the  father's  will.  It  implies  a  faith  that  is 
stronger  than  fear,  prevails  over  every  sorrow,  grief, 
disappointment,  and  asks  only  this  —  Thy  will  be 
done;  a  love  which  is  strongest  in  times  of  trouble, 
which  never  fails  when  mere  human  affection  goes 
stooping  and  feeble,  weeping  its  tears  of  blood ;  a  love 
which  annihilates  temptation,  and  in  the  hour  of  mortal 
agony  brings  as  it  were  an  angel  from  the  sky ;  an  abso- 
lute trust  in  God,  a  brave  unconcern  for  the  morrow, 
so  long  as  the  day's  duties  are  faithfully  done.  It  is  a 
love  of  goodness  and  religion  for  their  own  sake,  not  for 
the  bribe  of  heaven,  or  the  dread  of  hell.  It  implies  a 
reunion  of  man  and  God,  till  we  think  God's  thought, 
and  will  God's  will,  and  so  have  God  abiding  in  us, 
and  become  one  with  him. 

The  other  doctrine,  love  of  man,  is  love  of  all  as 
yourself,  not  because  they  have  no  faults,  but  in  spite 
thereof.  To  feel  no  enmity  towards  enemies ;  to  labor 
for  them  with  love ;  pray  for  them  with  pitying  affec- 
tion, remembering  the  less  they  deserve,  the  more  they 
need;  this  was  the  doctrine  of  love.     It  demands  that 


^34  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

the  rich,  the  wise,  the  holy,  help  the  poor,  the  foolish, 
the  sinful;  that  the  strong  bear  the  burdens  of  the 
weak,  not  bind  them,  on  anew.  It  tells  a  man  that  his 
excellence  and  ability  are  not  for  himself  alone,  but  for 
all  mankind,  of  which  he  is  but  one,  beginning  first 
with  the  nearest  of  the  needy.  It  makes  the  strong  the 
guardians,  not  the  tyrants  of  the  weak.  It  said:  Go 
to  the  publicans  and  sinners,  and  call  them  to  repent- 
ance; go  to  men  trodden  down  by  the  hoof  of  the 
oppressor,  rebuke  him  lovingly,  but  snatch  the  spoil 
from  his  bloody  teeth;  go  to  men  sick  with  desolation, 
covered  all  over  with  the  leprosy  of  sin,  bowed  together 
and  squalid  with  their  inveterate  disease,  bid  them  live 
and  sin  no  more.  It  despairs  of  no  man ;  sees  the  soul 
of  goodness  in  things  evil;  knows  the  soul  in  its  in- 
timate recess  never  consents  to  sin,  nor  loves  the  hate- 
ful. It  would  improve  men's  circumstances  to  mend 
their  heart;  their  heart  to  mend  their  circumstances. 
It  does  not  say  alone,  with  piteous  whine  —  God  save 
the  wicked  and  the  weak,  but  puts  its  own  shoulder  to 
work ;  divides  its  raiment  and  shares  its  loaf. 

To  say,  all,  in  brief  these  two  cardinal  doctrines  de- 
manded a  DIVINE  LIFE,  where  every  action  of  the  hand, 
the  head,  the  heart,  is  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  the 
Soul;  in  harmony  with  the  all-perfect.  This  was 
Christ's  notion  of  worship.  It  asked  for  nothing 
ritual,  formal;  laid  no  stress  on  special  days,  forms, 
rites,  creeds.  Its  rite,  its  creed,  its  substance  and  its 
form,  are  all  contained  in  that  one  command,  love 
MAN  AS  yourself;  God  above  all.  None  can  say, 
or  need  suppose,  that  Jesus  consciously  intended  all  the 
consequences  which  we  see  resulting  from  these  prin- 
ciples, or  that  he  even  foresaw  the  effects  thereof,  more 
than  Monk  Schwarz  expected,  the  results  of  his  inven- 
tion. 


CHRISTIANITY  235 

Thus  far  the  application  was  universal  as  the  doc- 
trine. But  he  taught  something  which  is  ritual. 
Baptism  and  the  supper.  The  first  was  a  common  rite 
at  the  time,  used  even  by  the  "  heathens."  In  a  na- 
tion dwelling  in  a  warm  climate,  and  so  fond  of  sym- 
bols as  the  Jews,  it  was  a  natural  expression^  of  the 
convert's  change  of  life.  Sensual  men  must  interpret 
their  religion  to  the  senses,  as  the  Hollanders  have 
their  Bible  in  Dutch.  It  seems  to  have  been  an  accom- 
modation to  the  wants  of  the  times  as  he  spoke  the 
popular  language.  Did  he  lay  any  stress  on  this 
watery  dispensation ;  count  it  valuable  of  itself?  Then 
we  must  drop  a  tear  for  the  weakness ;  for  no  outward 
act  can  change  the  heart,  and  God  is  not  to  be  mocked, 
pleased,  or  served  with  a  form.  Is  there  any  reason 
to  suppose  he  ever  designed  it  to  be  permanent?  It  is 
indeed  said  that  he  bade  the  disciples  teach  all  nations, 
"  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  father,  and  of  the 
son  and  the  holy  ghost."  *  But  since  the  apostles 
never  mention  the  command,  nor  the  form,  since  it  is 
opposite  to  the  general  spirit  of  his  precepts,  it  must 
be  put  with  the  many  other  things  which  are  to  be  ex- 
amined with  much  care  before  they  are  referred  to 
him.  But  if  it  came  from  him,  we  can  only  say,  There 
is  no  perfect  guide  but  the  father. 

The  second  form, —  was  it  of  more  account  than 
the  first?  Who  shall  tell  us  the  "  Lord's  supper  "  was 
designed  to  be  permanent  more  than  washing  the  feet, 
if  that  be  a  fact,  which  the  pope  likewise  imitates? 
Did  he  place  any  value  on  the  dispensation  of  wine; 
design  it  to  extend  beyond  the  company  then  present? 
If  we  may  trust  the  account,  he  asks  his  friends,  at 
supper,  to  remember  him,  when  they  break  bread.     It 

*Math.  XXVIII.  19,  and  the  paraUels. 


^36  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

was  simple,  natural,  affectionate,  beautiful.  Was  this 
a  foundation  of  a  form ;  to  last  forever ;  a  form  valua- 
ble in  itself;  essential  to  man's  spiritual  welfare;  a 
form  pleasing  to  him  who  is  all  in  all?  To  say  Jesus 
laid  any  stress  on  it  as  a  valuable  and  perpetual  rite,  is, 
to  go  beyond  what  is  written.  It  needs  no  reply. 
The  thing  may  be  useful,  beautiful,  comforting  to  a 
million  souls;  truly  it  has  been  so.  In  Christianity 
there  is  milk  for  babes  and  meat  for  men,  that  the  truth 
may  be  given  as  they  can  receive  it.  Let  each  be  fed 
with  the  father's  bounty.* 

*  In  the  first  edition  I  inserted  here  these  lines: — 

"Behold  the  child  by  nature's  kindly  law. 
Pleased  with  a  rattle,  tickled  with  a  straw; 
Some  livelier  plaything  gives  his  youth  delight, 
A  little  louder,  but  as  empty  quite." 

The  thought  I  wished  to  express  was  this:  The  two  ordi- 
nances, in  comparison  with  a  religious  life  and  character,  are 
no  more  than  the  rattles  and  straws  of  a  child,  compared  with 
the  attainments  of  an  accomplished  man;  it  is  a  beautiful 
feature  of  God's  Providence  that  things  in  themselves  of  no 
value,  can  yet  serve  so  important  a  purpose  as  the  intellectual, 
moral,  and  religious  development  of  a  man.  The  words  were 
understood  in  a  very  different  sense  —  sometimes  even  by  my 
friends.  I  omitted  them  in  the  English  edition  —  for  the 
publisher  at  first  designed  to  have  no  notes  in  that,  and  I  did 
not  wish  to  reprint,  without  explanation,  what  had  been  so 
much  misunderstood  before. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  AUTHORITY  OF  JESUS,  ITS  REAL  AND 
PRETENDED  SOURCE 

On  what  authority  did  Jesus  teach?  On  that  of 
the  most  high  God,  as  he  expressly  states,  and  often. 
But  to  have  the  authority  of  God,  is  not  that  miracu- 
lous? How  can  man  have  God's  authority  in  the  nat- 
ural way?     Let  us  look  at  the  matter. 

I.  The  only  Authority  of  a  Doctrine  is  its  Truth. 

Truth  is  the  relation  of  things  as  they  are;  false- 
hood as  they  are  not.  No  doctrine  can  have  a  higher 
condemnation  than  to  be  convicted  of  falsehood;  none 
a  higher  authority  than  to  be  proved  true.  God  is  the 
author  of  things  as  they  are ;  therefore  of  this  relation, 
and  therefore  of  truth.  He  that  delivers  the  truth 
then  has  so  far  the  authority  of  truth's  God.  Then  it 
will  be  asked,  How  do  we  know  Christianity  is  true,  or 
that  it  is  our  duty  to  love  man  and  God?  Now  when 
it  is  asked.  How  do  I  know  that  I  exist ;  that  doubting 
is  doubting ;  that  half  is  less  than  the  whole ;  that  it  is 
impossible  for  the  same  thing  to  be  and  not  to  be?  the 
questioner  is  set  down  as  a  strange  man.  But  it  has 
somehow  come  to  pass,  that  he  is  reckoned  a  very 
acute  and  Christian  person,  who  doubts  moral  and 
religious  axioms,  and  asks,  How  do  I  know  that  right 
is  right,  and  wrong  wrong,  and  goodness  good?  Alas, 
there  are  men  among  the  Christians,  who  place  virtue 
and  religion  on  a  lower  ground  than  Aristippus  and 


238  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Democritus,   men   branded   as   heathens    and   atheists. 
Let  us  know  what  we  are  about. 

It  was  said  above,*  there  are,  practically,  four  sources 
of  knowledge  —  direct  and  indirect,  primary  and  sec- 
ondary,—  namely,  perception  for  sensible  things;  in- 
tuition for  spiritual  things;  reflection  for  logical 
things ;  and  testimony  of  historical  things.  If  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity  are  eternal  truths,  they  are 
not  sensible  things,  not  historical  things,  and  of  course 
do  not  depend  on  sensual  perception,  nor  historical 
testimony,  but  can  be  presented  directly  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  men  at  one  age  as  well  as  another,  and 
thus  if  they  are  matters  of  reflection,  may  be  made 
plain  to  all  who  have  the  reflective  faculty  and  will 
use  it ;  if  they  are  matters  of  intuition,  to  all  who  have 
the  intuitive  faculty,  and  will  let  it  act.  Now  the  duty 
we  owe  to  man,  that  of  loving  him  as  ourselves;  the 
duty  we  owe  to  God,  that  of  loving  him  above  all,  is  a 
matter  of  intuition;  it  proceeds  from  the  very  nature 
of  man  and  is  inseparable  from  that  nature;  we  recog- 
nize the  truth  of  the  precept  as  soon  as  it  is  stated,  and 
see  the  truth  of  it  soon  as  the  unprejudiced  mind  looks 
that  way.  It  is  no  less  a  matter  of  reflection  likewise. 
He  that  reflects  on  the  idea  of  God  as  given  by  intui- 
tion, on  his  own  nature  as  he  learns  it  from  his  mental 
operations,  sees  that  this  twofold  duty  flows  logically 
from  these  premises.  The  truth  of  these  doctrines, 
then,  may  be  known  by  both  intuition  and  reflection. 
He  that  teaches  a  doctrine  eternally  true,  does  not  set 
forth  a  private  and  peculiar  thing  resting  on  private 
authority  and  historical  evidence,  but  as  everlasting 
reality,  which  rests  on  the  ground  of  all  truth,  the 
public  and  eternal  authority  of  unchanging  God.     A 

*  Book  III.  ch.  II. 


CHRISTIANITY  239 

false  doctrine  is  not  of  God.  It  has- no  background 
of  Godhead.  It  rests  on  the  authority  of  Simon  Peter 
or  Simon  Magus ;  of  him  that  sets  it  forth.  It  is  his 
private,  personal  property.  When  the  devil  speaks  a 
lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  own;  but  when  a  son  of  God 
speaks  the  truth,  he  speaks  not  his  own  word  but  the 
father's.  Must  a  man  indorse  God's  word  to  make  it 
current  .f* 

Again,  if  the  truth  of  any  doctrines  rest  on  the  per- 
sonal authority  of  Jesus,  it  was  not  a  duty  to  observe 
them  before  he  spoke ;  for  he,  being  the  cause,  or  indis- 
pensable occasion  of  the  duty,  to  make  the  effect  pre- 
cede the  cause  is  an  absurdity,  too  great  for  modem 
divines.  Besides,  if  it  depends  on  Jesus,  it  is  not 
eternally  true;  a  religious  doctrine  that  was  not  true 
and  binding  yesterday,  may  become  a  lie  again  by  to- 
morrow; if  not  eternally  true,  it  is  no  truth  at  all. 
Absolute  truth  is  the  same  always  and  everywhere. 
Personal  authority  adds  nothing  to  a  mathematical 
demonstration ;  can  it  more  to  a  moral  institution.''  Can 
authority  alter  the  relation  of  things.?  A  voice  speak- 
ing from  heaven,  and  working  more  wonders  than 
^Esop  and  the  saints,  or  Moses  and  the  Sibyl,  relate, 
cannot  make  it  our  duty  to  hate  God,  or  man ;  no  such 
voice  can  add  any  new  obligation  to  the  law  God  wrote 
in  us. 

When  it  is  said  that  the  doctrines  of  religion,  like  the 
truth  of  science,  rest  on  their  own  authority,  or  that 
of  unchanging  God,  they  are  then  seen  to  stand  on  the 
highest  and  safest  ground  that  is  possible  —  the 
ground  of  absolute  truth.  Then  if  all  the  evangelists 
and  apostles  were  liars ;  if  Jesus  were  mistaken  in  a 
thousand  things;  if  he  were  a  hypocrite;  yes,  if  he 
never  lived,  but  the  New  Testament  were  a  sheer  forgery 


^40  CHRISTIANITY 

from  end  to  end,  these  doctrines  are  just  the  same,  ab* 
solute  truth. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  these  depend  on  the  in- 
falHble  authority  of  Jesus,  then  if  he  was  mistaken  in 
any  one  point  his  authority  is  gone  in  all ;  if  the  evan- 
gelists were  mistaken  in  any  one  point,  we  can  never  be 
certain  we  have  the  words  of  Jesus  in  a  particular  case, 
and  then  where  is  "  historical  Christianity?  '* 

Now  it  is  a  most  notorious  fact,  that  the  apostles 
and  evangelists  were  greatly  mistaken  in  some  points. 
It  is  easy  to  show,  if  we  have  the  exact  words  of  Jesus, 
that  he  also  was  mistaken  in  some  points  of  the  greatest 
magnitude  —  in  the  character  of  God,  the  existence 
of  the  Devil,  the  eternal  damnation  of  men,  in  the  in- 
terpretation of  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  doctrine  of 
demons,  in  the  celebrated  prediction  of  his  second  com- 
ing and  the  end  of  the  world,  within  a  few  years.  If 
religion  or  Christianity  rest  on  his  authority,  and  that 
alone,  it  falls  when  the  foundation  falls,  and  that 
stands  at  the  mercy  of  a  school-boy.  If  he  is  not 
faithful  in  the  unrighteous  mammon,  who  shall  commit 
to  him  the  true  riches  ? 

II.  Of  the  authorit]/  derived  from  the  alleged  miracles 
of  Jesus, 

Of  late  years  it  has  been  unpopular  with  theological 
writers  to  rest  the  authority  of  Christianity  on  its 
truth,  and  not  its  truth  on  its  authority.  It  must  be 
confessed  there  is  some  inconvenience  in  the  case,  for  if 
this  method  of  trusting  truth  alone  and  not  authority 
be  followed,  by  and  by  some  things  which  have  much 
authority  and  no  truth  to  support  them,  may  come  to 
the  ground.     The  same  thing  took  place  in  the  middle 


CHRISTIANITY  ^41 

ages,  when  Abelard  looked  into  theology,  explaining 
and  defending  some  of  the  doctrines  of  the  church  by 
reason.  The  church  said,  If  you  commend  the  rea- 
sonable as  such,  you  must  condemn  the  not-reasonable, 
and  then  where  are  we?  A  significant  question  truly. 
So  the  church  "  cried  out  upon  him  "  as  a  heretic,  be- 
cause he  trusted  reason  more  than  a  blind  relief  in 
the  traditions  of  men,  which  the  church  has  long  had 
the  impudence  to  call  "  faith  in  God."  It  is  often 
said,  in  our  times,  that  Christianity  rests  on  miracles; 
that  the  authority  of  the  miracle-worker  authenticates 
his  doctrine;  if  a  teacher  can  raise  the  dead,  he  must 
have  a  commission  from  God  to  teach  true  doctrine; 
his  word  is  the  standard  of  truth.  Here  the  fact  and 
the  value  of  miracles  are  both  assumed  outright. 

Now  if  it  could  be  shown  that  Christianity  rested  on 
miracles,  or  had  more  or  less  connection  with  them,  it 
yet  proves  nothing  peculiar  in  the  case,  for  other  forms 
of  religions,  fetichistic,  polytheistic,  and  monotheistic, 
appeal  to  the  same  authority.  If  a  nation  is  rude  and 
supersitious,  the  claim  to  miracles  is  the  more  common ; 
their  authority  the  greater.*     To  take  the  popular  no- 

*  See  a  curious  story  respecting  an  Eastern  Calif  and  his  de- 
cision between  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  Christians  and 
Mahometans,  in  Marco  Polo,  ed.  Marsden,  Book  I.  ch.  VIII. 
p.  67-69.  See  also  Book  II.  ch.  II.  p.  275,  et  seq.;  Book  III. 
ch.  XX.  §  4,  p.  6-^8,  et  seq.  See  the  numerous  miracles  collected 
by  Valerius  Maximus  in  his  treatise,  De  Prodigiis,  Opp.  ed. 
Hase,  Vol.  I.  Lib.  I.  ch.  VI.;  De  Somniis,  ch.  VII.;  De  Miraculis, 
ch.  VIII.  Julius  Obsequens,  Prodigiorum,  Liber  Imperfectus: 
Jo.  Laurenti  Lydi,  De  Ostentis,  Fragmenta,  passim,  ad  calc. 
Opp.  Val.  Max.  See  the  Incarnation  and  Ascension  of  Budha, 
in  Upham,  The  Mahavansi,  the  Raja  Ratnacari,  and  the  Raja- 
vali;  Lond.  1833,  Vol.  I.  p.  1,  et  seq.:  for  miracles  and  marvels, 
passim.  See  Spencer's  Discourse  concerning  Prodigies;  Lond. 
1665.  But  see  Trenck,  Notes  on  the  Miracles,  etc.;  N.  Y.  1850, 
p.  25,  et  seq.  p.  75,  et  seq. 
Ill— 16 


242.  A  DISCOURSE  OP  RELIGION 

tion,  the  Jewish  religion  began  in  miracles,  was  con- 
tinued, and  will  end  in  miracles.  The  Mahometan 
tells  us  the  Koran  is  a  miracle ;  its  author  had  miracu- 
lous inspiration,  visions,  and  revelations.  The  writ- 
ings of  the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  the  Scandinavians  and 
the  Hindoos,  the  Chinese  and  Persians,  are  full  of  mira- 
cles. In  fetichism  all  is  miracle,  and  its  authority, 
therefore,  the  best  in  the  world.  The  Catholic  church 
and  the  Latter-day-Saints  still  claim  the  power  of 
working  them,  and,  therefore,  of  authenticating  what- 
ever they  will,  if  a  miracle  have  the  alleged  virtue. 

Now  in  resting  Christianity  on  this  basis  we  must 
do  one  of  two  things :  either,  first,  we  must  admit  that 
Christianity  rests  on  the  same  foundation  with  the 
lowest  fetichism,  but  has  less  divine  authority  than 
that,  for  if  miracles  constitute  the  authority,  then  that 
is  the  best  form  of  religion  which  counts  the  most 
miracles ;  or,  secondly,  we  must  deny  the  reality  of 
all  miracles  except  the  Christian,  in  order  to  give  ex- 
clusive sway  to  Christianity.  But  the  devotees  of  each 
other  formi  will  retort  the  denial,  and  claim  exclusive 
credence  for  their  favorite  wonders.  The  serious  in- 
quirer will  ask.  If  such  be  the  evidence,  what  is  truth, 
and  how  shall  I  get  at  it.?  And  if  he  does  not  stop  for 
a  time  in  scepticism,  at  best  in  indifference,  why  he 
is  a  very  rare  man.  In  this  state  of  the  case 
theologians  have  felt  bound,  in  logic,  either  to  prove 
the  superiority  of  Christian  miracles,  or  to  deny  all 
other  miracles.  The  first  method  is  not  possible,  the 
Hindoo  Priest  surpasses  the  Christian  in  the  number, 
and  magnitude  and  antiquity  of  his  miracles.  The 
second,  therefore,  is  the  only  method  left.  Accord- 
ingly, most  ingenious  attempts  have  been  made  to 
devise  some  test  which  will  spare  the  Christian  and 


CHRISTIANITY  ^45 

condemn  all  other  miracles.  The  "Protestant  saves 
only  those  mentioned  in  the  Bible ;  the  Catholic,  more 
consistently,  thinks  the  faculty  immanent  in  the 
church,  and  claims  miracles  down  to  the  present  day. 
But  all  these  attempts  to  establish  a  suitable  criterion 
have  been  fruitless,  and  even  worse,  often  exposing 
more  than  the  folly  of  their  authors.*  However,  they 
who  argue  from  the  miracles  alone,  assume  two  things ; 
first,  that  miracles  prove  the  divinity  of  a  doctrine; 
secondly,  that  they  were  wrought  in  connection  with 
the  Christian  doctrine.  If  one  ask  proof  of  these  sig- 
nificant premises,  it  is  not  easy  to  come  by.  This  sub- 
ject of  miracles  demands  a  careful  attention.  Here  are 
two  questions  to  be  asked.  First,  are  miracles  pos- 
sible? Second,  did  they  actually  occur  in  the  case  of 
Christianity.? 

I.     Are  miracles  possible? 

The  answer  depends  on  the  definition  of  the  term. 
The  point  we  are  to  reason  from  is  the  idea  of  God, 
who  must  be  the  cause  of  the  miracle.  Now  a  miracle 
is  one  of  three  things: — 

1.  It  is  a  transgression  of  all  law  which  God  has 
made;  or, 

2.  A  transgression  of  all  known  laws,  but  obedience 
to  a  law  which  we  may  yet  discover;  or, 

3.  A  transgression  of  all  law  known  or  knowable  by 
man,  but  yet  in  conformity  with  some  law  out  of  our 
reach. 

*  See  Douglas's  Criterion,  or  Miracles  Examined;  Lond.  1754, 
and  Leslie's  Short  Method  with  the  Deists.  See  an  ingenious 
illustration  of  the  folly  of  one  of  Leslie's  canons  in  Palfrey, 
Academical  Lectures,  etc.  Vol.  II.  p.  150,  note  ii.  See  Fehme- 
lius  De  Criteriis  Errorum  circa  Religionem  communibus;  Lips. 
1713,  1  Vol.  4to. 


244  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

1.  To  take  the  first  definition.  A  miracle  is  not 
possible,  as  it  involves  a  contradiction.  The  infinite  God 
must  have  made  the  most  perfect  laws  possible  in 
the  nature  of  things;  it  is  absurd  and  self-contra- 
dictory to  suppose  the  reverse.  But  if  his  laws  are 
perfect  and  the  nature  of  things  unchangeable,  why 
should  he  alter  these  laws.''  The  change  can  only  be 
for  the  worse.  To  suppose  he  does  this  is  to  accuse 
God  of  caprice.  If  he  be  the  ultimate  cause  of  the 
phenomena  and  laws  of  the  universe,  to  suppose  in  a 
given  case  he  changes  these  phenomena  and  laws,  is 
either  to  make  God  fickle  and  therefore  not  worthy  to 
be  relied  on ;  or  else  inferior  to  nature,  of  which  he  is 
yet  the  cause. 

2,  To  take  the  second  definition.  It  is  no  miracle 
at  all,  but  simply  an  act,  which  at  first  we  cannot  un- 
derstand and  refer  to  the  process  of  its  causation.  The 
most  common  events,  such  as  growth,  vitality,  sensa- 
tion, aff'ection,  thought,  are  miracles.  Besides,  the 
miracle  is  of  a  most  fluctuating  character.  The  mira- 
cle-worker of  to-day  is  a  matter-of-fact  juggler  to- 
morrow. The  explosion  of  gunpowder,  the  produc- 
tion of  magnified  images  of  any  object,  the  phenomena 
of  mineral  and  animal  magnetism,  are  miracles  in  one 
age,  but  common  things  in  the  next.  Such  wonders 
prove  only  the  skill  of  the  performer.  Science  each 
year  adds  new  wonders  to  our  store.  The  master  of  a 
locomotive  steam-engine  would  have  been  thought 
greater  than  Jupiter  Tonans  or  the  Elohim  thirty 
centuries  ago. 

3.  To  take  the  third  hypothesis.  There  is  no  ante- 
cedent objection,  nor  metaphysical  impossibility  in  the 
case.  Finite  man  not  only  does  not,  but  cannot  under- 
stand all  the  modes  of  Gods  action;  all  the  laws  of 


CHRISTIANITY  «46 

his  being.  There  may  be  higher  , beings,  to  whom 
God  reveals  himself  in  modes  that  we  can  never  know, 
for  we  cannot  tell  the  secrets  of  God,  nor  determine  ^ 
priori  the  modes  of  his  manifestation.  In  this  sense  a 
miracle  is  possible.  The  world  is  a  perpetual  miracle 
of  this  sort.  Nature  is  the  art  of  God ;  can  we  fully 
comprehend  it?  Life,  being,  creation,  duration,  do 
we  understand  these  actual  things.?  How  then  can  we 
say  to  the  infinite,  hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no 
further;  there  are  no  more  ways  wherein  thy  being 
acts  ?  *  Man  is  not  the  measure  of  God,  Let  us  use 
the  word  in  this  latter  sense. 

II.     Did  miracles  occur  m  the  case  of  Jestus? 

This  question  is  purely  historical;  to  be  answered, 
like  all  other  historical  questions,  by  competent  testi- 
mony. Have  we  testimony  adequate  to  prove  the 
fact.? 

*  See  Babbage,  Ninth  Bridgewater  Treatise;  Phila.  1841,  p. 
VII.  XXVI.  and  Sir  John  Herschel's  Letter  to  Mr.  Lyell 
therein,  p.  212.  Vestiges  of  Nat.  Hist,  of  Creation,  p.  145, 
et  seq.  Pascal  has  some  remarkable  speculations  on  Miracles. 
Pens^es,  P.  II.  Art.  16;  ed.  Paris,  1839,  p.  323,  et  seq.  He 
defines  a  miracle  as  an  effect  which  exceeds  the  natural  force 
of  the  means  employed  to  bring  it  about.  The  non-miracle  is 
an  effect  which  does  not  exceed  the  force,  p.  342.  He  adds 
they  who  effect  cures  by  the  invocation  of  the  devil,  work  no 
miracle,  for  that  does  not  exceed  the  devil's  natural  power!  A 
fortiori,  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  work  a  miracle.  Leibnitz 
has  some  strange  remarks  on  this  subject  scattered  about  in 
his  disorderly  writings.  See  what  he  says  in  reply  to  M.  Bayle, 
Theodicee.  Pt.  III.  §  248-0.  See  too  p.  776,  ed.  Erdmann. 
See  the  acute  remarks  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  Summa  Theologiae, 
P.  I.  qu.  101,  et  seq.  See  Theol.  Quartal  Schrift  (Tiibig.)  for 
1845,  p.  265,  et  seq.  C.  F.  Ammon,  Nova  Opuscula  theologica; 
Gott.  1803,  p.  157,  et  seq.  See  Gazzaniga,  Praelections  theo- 
logicae,  etc.;  Venet.  1803,  9  Vol.  4to.  Vol.  I.  Diss.  ii.  c.  7.  p.  71, 
et  seq. 


246  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Antecedent  to  all  experience  one  empirical  thing  is 
probable  as  another.  To  the  first  man,  with  no  experi- 
ence, birth  from  one  parent  is  no  more  surprising  than 
birth  from  two;  to  feed  five  men  with  five  ship-loads 
of  corn,  or  five  thousand  with  five  loaves ;  the  reproduc- 
tion of  an  arm,  or  a  finger  nail ;  the  awakening  from  a 
four  days'  death,  or  a  four  hours'  sleep;  to  change 
water  into  wine,  or  mineral  coal  into  burning  gas ;  the 
descent  into  the  sea,  or  the  ascent  into  the  sky,  the 
prediction  of  a  future  or  the  memory  of  a  past  event ; 
—  all  are  alike,  one  as  credible  as  the  other.  But  to 
take  our  past  experience  of  the  nature  of  things,  the 
case  wears  a  different  aspect.  We  demand  more  evi- 
dence for  a  strange  than  a  common  thing.  From  the 
very  constitution  of  the  mind  a  prudent  man  supposes 
that  the  laws  of  nature  continue;  that  the  same  cause 
produces  always  the  same  effects,  if  the  circumstances 
remain  the  same.  If  it  were  related  to  us,  by  four 
strangers  who  had  crossed  the  ocean  in  the  same  vessel, 
that  a  man,  now  in  London,  cured  diseases,  opened 
the  blind  eyes,  restored  the  wasted  limb,  and  raised 
men  from  the  dead,  all  by  a  mere  word;  that  he  him- 
self was  bom  miraculously,  and  attended  by  miracles 
all  his  life, —  who  would  believe  the  story.?  We 
should  be  justified  in  demanding  a  large  amount  of  the 
most  unimpeachable  evidence.  This  opinion  is  con- 
firmed by  the  doubt  of  scientific  men  in  respect  of 
"  animal  magnetism  "  and  "spiritualism  " —  where  no 
law  is  violated  but  a  faculty  hitherto  little  noticed  is 
disclosed. 

Now  if  we  look  after  the  facts  of  the  case,  we  find 
the  evidence  for  the  Christian  miracles  is  very  scanty  in 
extent,  and  very  uncertain  in  character.  We  must  de- 
pend on  the  testimony  of  the  epistolary  and  the  histor- 


CHRISTIANITY  247 

ical  books  of  the  New  Testament.  -It  is  a  notorious 
fact  that  the  genuine  epistles,  the  earliest  Christian 
documents,  make  no  mention  of  any  miracles  per- 
formed by  Jesus;  and  when  we  consider  the  character 
of  Paul,  his  strong  love  of  the  marvellous,  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  dwells  on  the  appearance  of  Jesus  to 
him  after  death,  it  seems  surprising,  if  he  believed  the 
other  miracles,  that  he  does  not  allude  to  them.  To 
examine  the  testimony  of  the  gospels;  two  profess  to 
contain  the  evidence  of  eye-witnesses.  But  we  are 
certain  these  books  came  in  their  present  shape  from 
John  and  Matthew;  it  is  certain  they  were  not  written 
till  long  after  the  events  related.  The  gospel  as- 
cribed to  John  is  of  small  historical  value  if  of  any  at 
all.  But  still  more,  each  of  them  relates  what  the 
writers  could  not  have  been  witness  to;  so  we  have 
nothing  but  hearsay  and  conjecture.  Besides,  these 
authors  shared  the  common  prejudice  of  their  times, 
and  disagree  one  with  the  other.  The  gospels  of  Mark 
and  Luke  —  who  were  not  eye-witnesses  —  in  some 
points  corroborate  the  testimony  of  John  and  Mat- 
thew; in  others  add  nothing;  in  yet  others  they  con- 
tradict each  other  as  well  as  John  and  Matthew.  But 
there  are  still  other  accounts  —  the  apocryphal  gos- 
pels —  some  of  them  perhaps  older  than  the  gospel  of 
Matthew,  certainly  older  than  John,  and  these  make 
the  case  worse  by  disclosing  the  fondness  for  miracles 
that  marked  the  Christians  of  that  early  period.* 
Taking  all  these  things  into  consideration,  and  remem- 
bering that  in  many  particulars  the  three  first  gospels 

*  See  these  Apocryphal  Works  referred  to  in  note  on  p.  225. 
Also  Jones,  Method  of  settling  the  canonical  Authority  of  the 
N.  T.;  Oxford,  1797,  3  vols.  The  Apoc.  N.  T.;  Boston,  1832. 
Wake,  Epistles  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  etc.;  Oxford,  1840. 
See   Mosheiro'§   Pissertation   on   the   causes    which   led   to   the 


£48  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

are  but  one  witness,  adding  the  current  belief  of  the 
times  in  favor  of  miracles,  the  evidence  to  prove  their 
historical  reality  is  almost  nothing,  admitting  we  have 
the  genuine  books  of  the  disciples ;  it  at  least  is  such 
evidence  as  would  not  be  considered  of  much  value  in 
a  court  of  justice.  However  the  absence  of  testi- 
mony does  not  prove  that  miracles  were  not  performed, 
for  a  universal  negative  of  this  character  cannot  be 
proved.* 

If  one  were  to  look  carefully  at  the  evidence  in  favor 
of  the  Christian  miracles,  and  proceed  with  the  caution 
of  a  true  inquirer,  he  must  come  to  the  conclusion,  I 
think,  that  they  cannot  be  admitted  as  facts.  The 
resurrection  —  a  miracle  alleged  to  be  wrought  upon 
Jesus,  not  by  him, —  has  more  evidence,  though  of  the 
same  inferior  kind,  than  any  other,  for  it  is  attested  by. 
the  epistles,  as  weU  as  the  gospels,  and  was  one  comer- 
stone  of  the  Christian  church.  But  here,  is  the  testi- 
mony sufficient  to  show  that  a  man  thoroughly  dead  as 
Abraham  and  Isaac  were,  came  back  to  life;  passed 
through  closed  doors,  and  ascended  into  the  sky?  I 
cannot  speak  for  others  —  but  most  certainly  I  can- 
not believe  such  monstrous  facts   on  such  evidence.f 

composition  of  supposititious  works  among  the  early  Chris- 
tians, in  his  Diss,  ad  H.  E.  pertinentes;  Alt.  1743,  Vol.  I.  p. 
221,  et  seq.  Mr.  Norton,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  III.  Ch.  XI.  treats  of 
the  subject  but  not  with  his  usual  learning. 

*  See  some  just  remarks  in  Hennel,  ubi  sub.  Ch.  VIII.; 
Strauss,  Leben  Jesu,  §  1-15,  §  90-103,  132-139;  Glaubenslehre, 
§  17,  and  on  the  other  hand  Neander  and  Tholuck.  See  De 
Wette,  Wesen  des  Glaubens,  §  60.  Flugge,  Gesch.  theol.  Wis- 
senschaften;  Halle,  1796,  Vol.  I.  p.  97,  et  seq.  For  the  value 
early  set  on  miraculous  evidence,  see  the  Treatise  of  Theophilus 
(Bp.  of  Antioch,  in  the  2d  cent.),  address  to  Autolycus,  Lib.  I. 
C.  13,  et  al.     Trenck,  ubi  sup. 

fBut  see  Furness,  ubi  sup.  ch.  VII.  VIII.  XIII.  See  the 
candid  remarks  of  De  Wette,  ubi  sup.  §   61.     He  admits  the 


CHRISTIANITY  249 

There  is  far  more  testimony  to  prove  the  fact  of  mir- 
acles, witchcraft,  and  diabolical  possessions  in  times 
comparatively  modem,  than  to  prove  the  Christian 
miracles.  It  is  well  known,  that  the  most  credible 
writers  among  the  early  Christians,  Irenaeus,  Origen, 
TertuUian,  Cyprian,  Augustine,  Chrysostom,  Jerome, 
Theodoret,  and  others,  believed  that  the  miraculous 
power  continued  in  great  vigor  in  their  time.*  But  to 
come  down  still  later  the  case  of  St.  Bernard  of  Clair- 
vaux  is  more  to  the  point.  He  lived  in  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  centuries.  His  life  has  been  written  in 
part  by  William,  Abbot  of  St.  Thierry,  Ernald,  Abbot 
of  Bonnevaux,  and  Geoffrey,  Abbot  of  Igny,  "  all  eye- 
witnesses of  the  saint's  actions."  Another  life  was 
written  by  Alanus,  Bishop  of  Auxerre,  and  still  another 
by  John  the  Hermit,  not  long  after  the  death  of 
Bernard,  both  his  contemporaries.     Besides,  there  are 

difficulties  of  the  case,  and  only  saves  the  general  fact  of  the 
resurrection,  by  rejecting  the  authenticity  of  the  4th  and  part 
of  the  3d  Gospel  (p.  315,  et  seq.)>  for  he  thinks  the  details  of 
their  accounts   are  inadmissible. 

*  On  this  subject  of  the  miraculous  power  in  the  early  church, 
see  the  celebrated  treatise  of  Middleton,  A  Free  Inquiry  into 
the  Miraculous  Powers  in  the  Christian  Church,  etc.;  Lond. 
1749,  in  his  Works,  Lond.  1752,  Vol.  I.  See  Mosheim's  Eccles. 
Hist.  Pt.  I.  ch.  I.  §  8,  and  Murdock's  note.  The  testimony  of 
Chrysostom  is  fluctuating.  See  Middleton,  Vol.  I.  p.  105,  et  seq. 
See  Newman's  defense  of  the  Cath.  miracles  in  the  dissertation 
prefixed  to  Vol.  I.  of  the  Tr.  of  Fleury's  History  of  the  Church. 
Conrad  Lycosthenes,  Prodigiorum  ac  Ostentorum  Chronicon; 
Basil,  1557,  1  Vol.  Fol.  The  Treatise  of  St.  Ephraim  of 
Cherson  on  the  miracle  wrought  by  Clement,  at  the  end  of 
Cotelerius,  Pat.  Apost.;  Ant.  1698,  Vol.  I.  p.  811,  et  seq. 
The  story  of  Simon  Magus  shows  the  credulity  of  the  early 
church.  See  it  in  Hegesippus,  Lib.  III.  C.  II.  See  too  Leo, 
Ep.  ad  Constant.  Imp.;  Augustinus  Ep.  86,  and  Const.  Apost. 
VI.  9.  Bernino,  Istoria,  de  tuttel,  Heresie;  Venet.  1711.  4  Vol. 
4to.  Sec.  I.  Ch.  I.  See  the  curious  miracles  related  by  Victor 
Vitejwis  ftud  Aeneas  Gazaeus,  in  Gibbon,  Hist.  ch.  XXXVII. 


250  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

three  books  on  his  miracles,  one  by  Philip  of  Clairvaux, 
another  by  the  monks  of  that  place,  and  a  third  by  the 
above-mentioned  Geoffrey.  He  cured  the  deaf,  the 
dumb,  the  lame,  the  blind,  men  possessed  with  devils, 
in  many  cases,  before  multitudes  of  people :  he  wrought 
thirty-six  miracles  in  a  single  day,  says  one  of  these 
historians;  converted  men  and  women  that  could  not 
understand  the  language  he  spoke  in.  His  wonders 
are  set  down  by  the  eye-witnesses  themselves,  men 
known  to  us  by  the  testimony  of  others.*  I  do  not 
hesitate  in  saying  that  there  is  far  more  evidence  to 
support  the  miracles  of  St.  Bernard  than  those  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament. f 

*  See  these  books  in  Mabillon's  edition  of  Bernard;  Paris, 
1721,  Vol.  II.  p.  1071,  et  seq.  See  Fleury,  Histoire  Ecclesiasti- 
que,  Liv.  LXVI.  et  seq.,  and  especially  LXIX.  ch.  XVII.;  ed. 
Nismes,  1779,  Vol.  X.  p.  147,  et  seq.,  where  is  a  summary  of 
some  of  his  most  important  miracles.  See  likewise  Les  Vies  des 
Saints;  Paris,  1701,  Vol.  II.  p.  288-326;  Butler's  Lives  of  the 
Saints;  Lond.  1815,  Vol.  VIII.  p.  227-274;  Milner's  History  of 
the  Church  of  Christ,  etc..  Vol.  III.;  Christian  Examiner  for 
March,  1841,  Art.  I.  At  the  recent  exhibition  of  "the  holy 
Robe  of  Jesus  "  at  Treves,  no  less  than  eleven  miraculous  cures 
were  effected,  so  it  is  said.  Miracula  Stultis !  See  Marx,  His^ 
tory  of  the  Holy  Robe  of  J.  C.  with  an  account  of  the  miracu- 
lous cures  performed  by  the  said  Robe  from  18th  August  to 
Cth  October,  1844;  Phil.  1845.  Numerous  bishops  attended  the 
exhibition,  and  more  than  1,100,000  persons,  says  the  book. 
See  p.  97,  et  seq.  See  too  John  Ronge,  the  holy  coat  of 
Treves  and  the  new  German  Catholic  Church;  New  York,  1845. 
See  an  account  of  the  miracle  wrought  by  Vespasian,  in  Tacitus, 
Hist.  Lib.  IV.  C.  81,  Opp.  ed.  Paris,  1819,  III.  p.  490,  et  seq. 
See  several  similar  wonders  in  Ammon,  ubi  sup.  p.  165,  et  seq. 

t  Bernino,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  p.  204,  gives  a  very  dramatic 
account  of  a  scene  between  St.  Macarius  and  a  heretic,  in 
which,  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  catholic  doctrine,  the  saint 
raises  from  the  dead  a  monk  who  had  been  buried  about  a 
month!  For  other  confirmatory  miracles,  see  Bernino,  passim. 
It  is  well  known  that  Petrarch,  in  the  14th  century,  believed 
the  miracles   of  Pope   Urban  his   own   contemporary;   and  de 


CHRISTIANITY  251 

But  we  are  to  accept  such  testimony  with  great  cau- 
tion. The  tendency  of  men  to  believe  the  thing  hap- 
pens which  they  expect  to  happen ;  the  tendency  of 
rumor  to  exaggerate  a  real  occurrence,  into  a  surpris- 
ing or  miraculous  affair,  is  well  known.  A  century 
and  a  half  have  not  gone  by  since  witches  were  tried 
by  a  special  court  in  Massachusetts ;  convicted  by  a 
jury  of  twelve  good  men  and  true;  preached  against 
by  the  clergy,  and  executed  by  the  common  hangman. 
Any  one  who  looks  carefully  and  without  prejudice 
into  the  matter  sees,  I  think,  more  evidence  for  the 
reality  of  those  "  wonders  of  the  invisible  world  "  than 
for  the  Christian  miracles.  Here  is  the  testimony  of 
scholars,  clergymen,  witnesses  examined  under  oath, 
jurymen,  and  judges;  the  confession  of  honest  men; 
of  persons  whose  character  is  well  known  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  to  prove  the  reality  of  witchcraft  and  the 
actual  occurrence  of  miraculous  facts ;  of  the  inter- 
ference of  powers  more  than  human  in  the  affairs  of 
the  world.*     The  appearance  of  spectres  and  ghosts, 

Sade  his  biographer,  writing  in  1767,  will  have  us  believe  that 
the  pope  actually  performed  80  miracles,  besides  raising  two 
girls  from  the  dead  in  the  city  of  Avignon.  Junker,  in  his 
Ehrengedachtnitz  Lutheri  (p.  276-89,  ed.  1707),  says  that  a 
portrait  of  Luther  at  Ober-Rossla  in  Weimar,  at  three  dif- 
ferent times,  was  covered  with  a  profuse  sweat  while  the 
preacher  was  speaking  of  the  sad  state  of  the  schools  and 
churches.  See  Reformation  Almanach  fiir  1817,  p.  XXVI.  See 
the  story  of  Spiridion,  and  his  numerous  miracles,  in  Sozomen, 
Hist.  Eccles.  Lib.  I.  C.  XL;  ed.  Par.  1544,  p.  14,  et  seq.  See 
Wright's  Essay  on  the  Lit.  and  Superstitions  of  England  in 
middle  ages;  Lond.  1846,  Vol.  II.  Essay  X.  XII. 

*  See,  who  will.  Cotton  Mather's  Wonders  of  the  Invisible 
World;  Boston,  1693.  Increase  Mather's  Cases  of  Conscience, 
etc.,  and  the  learned  authors  in  Diabology  therein  cited.  Sec 
also  Hale's  Modest  Enquiry  into  the  Nature  of  Witchcraft,  etc.; 
Boston,  1702.  Calef,  More  Wonders  from  the  Invisible  World; 
London,   1700.     Upham's  Lectures  on  Witchcraft,  etc.    Stone's 


252  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

of  the  devil  as  "  a  little  black  man ; "  the  power  of 
witches  to  ride  through  the  air,  overturn  a  ship,  raise 
storms,  and  torture  men  at  a  distance,  is  attested  by 
a  crowd  o£  witnesses,  perfectly  overshadowing  to 
a  man  of  easy  faith.*  In  the  celebrated  case  of  Rich- 
ard Dugdale,  the  "  Surey  Demoniack,"  or  "  Surey  Im- 
postor," f  —  which  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of  the 

History  of  Beverly;  Boston  1843,  p.  213,  et  seq.  Mather's 
Magnalia,  passim.  Chandler's  Criminal  Trials,  p.  65,  et  seq. 
Bancroft,  ubi  sup.  ch.  XIX.  See  many  curious  particulars  in 
Hutchinson's  Essay  concerning  Witchcraft,  etc.;  second  edition, 
London,  1720.  See  Remigius,  Demonolatriae,  Libri  HI.;  Col. 
1576,  1  Vol.  12mo.  I  have  not  seen  the  book,  but  it  is  said  to 
contain  matter  derived  from  the  cases  of  about  900  persons 
executed  for  witchcraft  in  15  years  at  Lorraine.  See  a  con- 
temporary Narrative  of  the  Proceedings  against  Dame  Alice 
Kyteler,  prosecuted  for  Sorcery  in  1324  by  the  Bp.  of  Ossory; 
Lond.  1843,  1  Vol.  4to,  Introduction.  See  Account  of  the 
Trial,  Confession,  etc.,  of  Six  Witches  at  Maidstone,  etc.  1652, 
and  the  Trial  of  Three  Witches,  etc.  1645;  Lond.  1837.  In 
the  13th  century  the  Cath.  Church  declared  a  disbelief  of 
witchcraft  to  be  Heresy.  See,  who  will,  the  Bulls  of  the  Popes 
relative  to  this  from  Greg.  IX.  down  to  the  famous  Bull  of 
Innoc.  VIII.  (1484)  Summis  desiderantes.  The  celebrated  work 
of  Sprenger  &  Kramer,  Malleus  Malleficarum  (1484  at  Saesse) 
may  be  consulted  by  the  curious.  In  1487  this  infamous  work 
was  approved  by  the  theological  faculty  at  Cologne,  and  ac- 
quired a  great  reputation  in  the  church.  It  is  remarkable  that 
in  1650,  when  two  Jesuits  in  Germany  wrote  against  trials  for 
Witchcraft,  the  most  famous  Protestant  divines  —  as  Pott  at 
Jena  and  Carpzov  at  Leipsic  —  defended  the  prosecution,  and 
wished  men  punished  for  disbelieving  in  witchcraft..  See  Gaz- 
zaniga,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  IV.  Diss.  I.  C.  20,  p.  44,  et  seq. 

*  Henry  More  has  made  a  pretty  collection  of  cases  out  of 
authors  now  forgotten,  in  Antidote  against  Atheism,  Book  III. 
ch.  I.-XII.  Appendix,  ch.  XII.  XIII.  Immortalitas  Animoe, 
Lib.  II.  ch.  XV.-XVII.;  Lib.  IH.  ch.  IV.  See  his  Enchiridion 
Metaphysicum,  Pars.  I.  ch.  XXVI.  W.  G.  Solden  has  written 
a  Geschichte  der  Hexen-Processe,  etc.;  Stuttgart,  1843.  See  too 
Hauber's  Zauberbibliothek ;  3  vols.  8vo.  Horst,  Zauberbiblio- 
thek,  6  vols.  8vo.  and  Grasse,  Bibliotheca  Magica,  etc.;  Leip. 
1843. 

t"The  Surey  Demoniack,  or  an  Account  of  Satan's  Strang* 


CHRISTIANITY  ^53 

seventeenth  century,  in  England,  and  was  a  most  no- 
torious affair, —  we  have  the  testimony  of  nine  dis- 
senting clergymen,  to  prove  his  diabolical  miracles, 
all  of  them  familiar  with  the  "  Demoniack ;  "  and  also 
the  depositions  of  many  "  credible  persons,"  sworn  to 
before  two  magistrates,  to  confirm  the  wonder.  Yet 
it  turned  out  at  last  that  there  was  no  miracle  in  the 
case.*  It  is  needless  to  mention  the  "  miracles " 
wrought  at  the  tomb  of  the  Abbe  de  Paris,  during  the 
last  century,f  or,  in  our  own  time,  those  of  father 

and  Dreadful  Actings  in  and  about  the  Body  of  Richard  Dug- 
dale,"  etc.  etc.;  London,  1697. 

*  See  Taylor's  "  The  Devil  turned  Casuist,"  etc. ;  London, 
169T.  "Lancashire  Levite  Rebuked;"  1698,  and  "The  Surey 
Impostor."  The  latter  I  copy  from  citations  in  "A  Vindica- 
tion of  the  Surey  Demoniack,"  etc.;  London,  1698.  Such  as 
wish  to  see  melancholy  specimens  of  human  folly  may  consult 
also  Barrows,  "The  Lord's  Arm  stretched  out,"  etc.  etc.;  Lon- 
don, 1664.  "The  Second  Part  of  the  Boy  of  Bilson,"  etc.  etc.; 
London,  1698.  "A  Relation  of  the  Diabolical  Practices  of 
above  twenty  Witches  of  Renfreu,  etc.,  contained  in  their  Try- 
als,  etc.,  and  for  which  several  of  them  have  been  executed  the 
present  Year,"  1697;  London,  1697.  "  Sadducismus  Debellatus, 
Narrative  of  the  Sorceries  and  Witchcrafts  of  the  Devil  upon 
Mrs.  Christian  Shaw,  etc.  of  Renfreu,"  etc.;  London,  1698. 
See  Glanvill,  a  Blow  at  Modern  Sadducism,  in  some  considera- 
tions about  Witchcraft,  etc.  etc.;  4th  ed.  London,  1668.  Essays, 
etc.;  London,  1676.  Essay  VI.  Against  Modern  Sadducism  in 
the  matter  of  Witches  and  Apparitions.  Sadducismus  tri- 
umphatus,  or  evidence  concerning  Witches  and  Apparitions,  etc. 
etc.;  4th  ed.  London,  1726.  Yet  the  author  was  a  highly  intel- 
ligent man,  who  appreciated  Bacon  and  applauded  Descartes, 
and  contended  for  free  inquiry  and  against  superstition  and 
fanaticism,  with  wit  and  argument  (see  Essay  VII.),  Howell 
estimates  that  thirty  thousand  suffered  death  for  witchcraft, 
in  England,  during  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  State  Trials, 
Vol.  II.  p.  1051,  as  cited  by  Chandler,  ubi  sup.  p.  69. 

t  See  the  celebrated  work  of  M.  de  Montgiron,  La  V^rit6  des 
Miracles  de  M.  de  Paris,  demontree,  etc.;  Utrecht,  1737,  1 
Vol.  4to.  The  author  was  a  Conseiller  au  Parlement,  and  him- 
self converted  by  these  miracles.     See  too  the  Advertissemont 


^54  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Matthews  in  Ireland,  and  the  Mormonites  in  New 
England.  A  miracle  is  never  looked  for  but  it 
comes.* 

No  man  can  say  there  was  not  something  at  the 
bottom  of  the  Christian  "  miracles,"  and  of  witchcrafts 
and  possessions ;  I  doubt  not  something  not  yet  fully, 
understood;  but  to  suppose,  on  such  evidence,  that 
God  departed  from  the  usual  law  of  the  world,  in  these 
cases,  is  not  very  rational,  to  say  the  least;  to  make 
such  a  belief  essential  to  Christianity  is  without  war- 
rant in  the  words  of  Christ. 

But  now  admitting  in  argument  that  Jesus  wrought 
all  the  miracles  alleged ;  that  his  birth  and  resurrection 
were  both  miraculous ;  that  he  was  the  only  person  en- 
dowed with  such  miraculous  power  —  it  does  not  thence 
follow  that  he  would  teach  true  doctrine.  Must  a  re- 
vealer  of  transient  miracles  to  the  sense  necessarily  be 
a  revealer  of  eternal  truth  to  the  soul.?     It  follows 

of  this  ed.,  and  the  "  consequens  qu'on  doit  tir^r  des  Miracles, 
etc."  with  the  remarkable  "Pieces  j ustificatives,"  at  the  end  of 
the  volume.  See  Mosheim  Dissert,  on  this  subject,  ubi  sup. 
Vol.  II.  p.  309,  et  seq. 

It  is  instructive  to  find  Irenaeus  (II.  57)  declaring  that  the 
true  disciples  of  Christ  could  work  miracles  in  his  time,  and 
that  the  dead  were  raised  and  remained  alive  some  years, 
Eusebius,  H.  E.  IV.  3,  cites  Quadratus,  who  lived  half  a  cen- 
tury before  Irenaeus,  to  prove  that  men  miraculously  raised 
from  the  dead  lived  a  considerable  time,  ed.  Heinichen,  Vol.  I. 
p.  292.  See  the  curious  papers  on  Folk-Lore,  in  the  Athenaeum 
(London)  for  1846. 

*Well  says  Livy,  XXIV.  10,  Quae  [Miracula]  quo  magis 
credebant  simplices  et  religiosi  homines,  eo  plura  nunciabantur ! 
See  the  remarkable  literature  connected  with  what  is  called 
"  Spiritualism "  already  so  copious,  especially  the  works  of 
Edmands,  Rogers,  Ballou,  Bell,  and  Hare;  the  writings  of  A.  J. 
Davis  seem  to  be  one  of  the  most  remarkable  literary  phe- 
nomena in  the  world,  but  it  would  be  absurd  to  call  them 
miraculous. 


CHRISTIANITY  ^55 

no  more  than  the  reverse.  But  admif  it  in  argument. 
Then  he  must  never  be  mistaken  in  the  smallest  par- 
ticular. But  this  is  contrary  to  fact;  for  if  we  may 
trust  the  record,  he  taught  that  he  should  appear  again 
after  his  alleged  ascension,  and  the  world  would  end  in 
that  age. 

Practically  speaking,  a  miracle  is  a  most  dubious 
thing;  in  this  case  its  proof  the  most  uncertain.  But 
on  the  supposition  that  our  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  Religion  must  rest  wholly  or  mainly  on  the  fact, 
that  Jesus  wrought  the  alleged  miracles,  then  is  relig- 
ion itself  a  most  uncertain  thing,  and  we  in  this  age 
can  never  be  so  sure  thereof,  though  our  soul  testify  to 
its  truth,  as  the  old  Jews,  who  rejected  him,  and  yet 
had  their  senses  to  testify  to  the  miracles.  If  the 
proof  of  religion  be  the  sensations  of  the  evangelists, 
then  we  can  be  no  more  certain  of  its  truth  than  of  the 
fact  that  Jesus  had  no  human  father! 

But  this  question  of  miracles,  whether  true  or  false, 
is  of  no  religious  significance.  When  Mr.  Locke  said 
the  doctrine  proved  the  miracles,  not  the  miracles  the 
doctrine,  he  silently  admitted  their  worthlessness. 
They  can  be  useful  only  to  such  as  deny  our  internal 
power    of    discerning   truth,*     Now   the   doctrine   of 

*  "  Let  us  see  how  far  inspiration  can  enforce  on  the  mind 
any  opinion  concerning  God  or  his  worship,  when  accompanied 
with  a  power  to  do  a  miracle,  and  here  too,  I  say,  the  last 
determination  must  be  that  of  reason.  1.  Because  reason  must 
be  the  judge  what  is  a  miracle,  and  what  is  not,  which  —  not 
knowing  how  far  the  power  of  natural  causes  do  extend  them- 
selves, and  what  strange  effects  they  may  produce  —  is  very 
hard  to  determine.  2.  It  will  always  be  as  great  a  miracle  that 
God  should  alter  the  course  of  natural  things,  as  overturn 
the  principles  of  knowledge  and  understanding  in  a  man,  by 
setting  up  any  thing  to  be  received  by  him  as  a  truth  which  his 
reason  cannot  assent  to,  as  the  miracle  itself;  and  so  at  best 
it   will   be    but   one    miracle    against   another,   and   the   greater 


^56  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

religion  is  eternally  true.  It  requires  only  to  be  un- 
derstood to  be  accepted.  It  is  a  matter  of  direct  and 
positive  knowledge,  dependent  on  no  outside  authority, 
while  the  Christian  miracles  are,  at  best,  but  a  matter 
of  testimony,  and  therefore  of  secondary  and  indirect 
knowledge.  The  thing  to  be  proved  is  notoriously 
true;  the  alleged  means  of  proof  notoriously  uncer- 
tain. Is  it  not  better,  then,  to  proceed  to  religion  at 
once.?  for  when  this  is  admitted  to  be  as  true  as  the 
demonstrations  and  axioms  of  science,  as  much  a  matter 
of  certainty  as  the  consciousness  of  our  existence,  then 
miracles  are  of  no  value.  They  may  be  interesting  to 
the  historian,  the  antiquary  or  physiologist,  not  to  us 
as  religious  men.  They  now  hang  as  a  mill-stone 
about  the  neck  of  many  a  pious  man,  who  can  believe  in 
religion,  but  not  in  the  transformation  of  water  to 
wine,  or  the  resurrection  of  a  body. 

gtill  on  reason's  side;  it  being  hard  to  believe  God  should  alter 
and  put  out  of  its  ordinary  course  some  phenomenon  of  the 
great  world  for  once,  and  make  things  act  contrary  to  their 
ordinary  rule,  purposely,  that  the  mind  of  man  might  do  so 
always  afterwards,  than  that  this  is  some  fallacy  or  natural 
effect,  of  which  he  knows  not  the  cause,  let  it  look  never  so 
strange.  ...  I  do  not  hereby  deny  in  the  least,  that  God 
can  do,  or  hath  done,  miracles  for  the  confirmation  of  truth; 
but  I  only  say  that  we  cannot  think  he  should  do  them  to  en- 
force doctrines  or  notions  of  himself  or  any  worship  of  him 
not  conformable  to  reason,  or  that  we  can  receive  such  for 
truth  for  the  miracle's  sake;  and  even  in  those  books  which 
have  the  greatest  proof  of  revelation  from  God,  and  the  at- 
testation of  miracles  to  confirm  their  being  so,  the  miracles 
are  to  be  judged  by  the  doctrine,  and  not  the  doctrine  by  the 
miracle"  King's  Life  of  Locke,  Vol.  I.  p.  231,  et  seq.  See 
the  remarks  of  Calvin,  Institutes,  Dedication  to  Francis  I. 
Allen's  Tr.;  Lond.  1838,  Vol.  I.  p.  XIX.  Gerhard  in  his 
Common  Places,  says,  "  Miracles  prove  nothing,  unless  they 
have  a  doctrinal  Truth  connected  with  them.'* 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    ESSENTIAL    EXCELLENCE    OF    THE 
CHRISTIAN  RELIGION 

Let  us  call  the  religious  teachings  of  Jesus  "  Chris- 
tianity " ;  it  agrees  generically  with  all  other  forms  in 
this,  that  it  is  a  religion.  Its  peculiarity  is  not  in  its 
doctrine  of  one  infinite  God;  of  the  immortality  of 
man,  nor  of  future  retribution.  It  is  not  in  particular 
rules  of  morality,  for  precepts  as  true  and  beautiful 
may  be  found  in  heathen  writers,  who  give  us  the 
same  view  of  man's  nature,  duty,  and  destination. 
The  great  doctrines  of  Christianity  were  known  long 
before  Jesus,  for  God  did  not  leave  man  four  thousand 
years  unable  to  find  out  his  plainest  duty.  There  is 
no  precept  of  Jesus,  no  real  duty  commanded,  no 
promise  offered,  no  sanction  held  out,  which  cannot 
be  paralleled  by  similar  precepts  in  writers  before  him. 
The  pure  in  heart  saw  God  before  as  well  as  after 
him.  Every  imperfect  form  of  religion  was,  more 
or  less,  an  anticipation  of  Christianity.  So  far 
as  a  man  has  real  religion,  so  far  he  has  what  is  true 
in  Christianity.*  By  its  light  Zoroaster,  Confucius, 
Pythagoras,  Socrates,  with  many  millions  of  holy 
men,  walked  in  the  early  times  of  the  world.     By  this 

*See  Tindal,  Christianity  as  Old  as  the  Creation,  etc.  See 
Lactantius,  Hist.  Div.  Lib.  VII.  C.  7,  Nos.  4  and  7,  who  admits 
that  all  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  were  taught  before,  but 
not  collected  into  one  mass.  See  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  I.  13,  p. 
349.  Dr.  Reginald  Peacock,  writing  in  the  15th  century  against 
the  Lollards,  says  that  Christianity  added  nothing  at  all  (except 
the   Sacraments)    to    the  moral   law,   for  all   of   that  was  pri' 

HI-17  257 


258  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

they  were  cheered  when  their  souls  were  bowed  down, 
and  they  knew  not  which  way  to  turn.  They  and  their 
kindred,  hke  Moses,  were  school-masters  to  prepare 
the  world  for  Christianity ;  shadows  of  good  things 
to  come;  the  dayspring  from  on  high;  the  Bethlehem 
star  announcing  the  perfect  religion  which  is  to  fol- 
low. Modern  Christians  love  to  deny  that  there  are 
points  of  agreement  between  Christianity  and  its  prede- 
cessors. The  early  apologists  took  just  the  opposite 
course. 

1.  The  religious  teachings  of  Jesus  have  this  chief 
excellence,  they  allow  men  to  advance  indefinitely  be- 
yond him.  He  does  not  foreclose  human  conscious- 
ness against  the  income  of  new  truth,  nor  make  any  one 
fact  of  human  history  a  bar  to  the  development  of 
human  nature.  I  do  not  find  that  he  taught  his  doc- 
trines either  as  a  finality,  or  as  one  of  many  steps  in 
the  progressive  development  of  mankind:  he  gives  no 
opinion.  The  author  of  the  fourth  gospel  makes  him 
tell  his  disciples  that  he  had  other  things  to  make 
known ;  that  the  comforter  would  teach  them  all  things, 
and  they  should  do  greater  works  than  he.  Paul,  pro- 
fessing to  receive  new  revelations  from  the  immortal 
Jesus,  revolutionizes  the  doctrines  of  the  historical 
person :  and  notwithstanding  the  profession  of  "  fol- 
lowing Jesus "  as  the  sole  authority,  the  Christian 
church  has  built  up  a  "  scheme  of  divinity  "  and  a 
"  plan  of  salvation "  as  much  at  variance  with  the 
recorded  words  of  Jesus  in  the  synoptics,  as  repug- 

marily  established,  not  on  the  Scriptures  but  on  natural  reason; 
and  adds  that  natural  law  must  be  obeyed,  even  if  Christ  and 
the  apostles  had  taught  what  was  opposed  thereto.  Wharton 
in  Appendix  to  Cave,  Historia  literaria,  etc.;  Lond.  1698,  VoL 
I.  p.  136. 


CHRISTIANITY  ^59 

nant  to  common  sense.  No  sect  has  "practically  taken 
the  words  of  Jesus  for  a  finality,  though  each  counts 
its  own  doctrine  as  the  last  word  of  God. 

Judaism  and  Mahomet anism,  each  sets  out  from 
the  alleged  words  of  one  man,  which  are  made  the  only, 
measure  of  truth  for  the  whole  human  race.  There 
can  be  no  progress.  The  devotee  of  Judaism  or  Ma- 
hometansim  must  logically  believe  his  form  of  religion 
perpetual:  so  if  a  man  teach  what  is  hostile  to  it,  he 
must  be  put  to  death,  though  his  doctrine  be  true. 

Whatever  is  consistent  with  reason,  conscience,  and 
the  religious  faculty,  is  consistent  with  the  Christianity 
of  Jesus,  all  else  is  hostile;  whoever  obeys  these  three 
oracles  is  essentially  a  Christian,  though  he  lived  ten 
thousand  years  before  Jesus,  or  living  now,  does  not 
own  his  name.  Let  men  improve  in  reason,  conscience, 
heart,  and  soul,  in  what  most  becomes  a  man  —  they 
outgrow  each  form  of  worship ;  they  pass  by  all  that 
rests  on  historical  things,  signs,  wonders,  miracles,  all 
that  does  not  rest  on  the  eternal  God,  ever  acting  in 
man ;  yet  they  are  not  the  further  from  this  Christian- 
ity, but  all  the  nearer  by  the  change.  These  things 
are  left  behind,  as  the  traveller  leaves  the  mire  and 
stones  of  the  road  he  travels,  and  shakes  off  the  dust 
of  his  garments  as  he  approaches  some  queenly  city, 
throned  amid  the  hills,  and  looks  back  with  sorrow  on 
the  crooked  way  he  has  traversed,  where  others  still 
drag  their  slow  and  lingering  length  along.  Men 
must  come  to  such  Christianity  when  they  come  to  real 
manly  excellence..  This  proposes  no  partial  end,  but 
an  absolute  object  —  the  perfection  of  man,  or  one- 
ness with  God.  Therefore  it  leaves  men  perfect  free- 
dom ;  the  liberty  that  comes  of  obedience  to  the  law  of 
the  spirit  of  life.     Other  forms   of  worship,  ancient 


260  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

and  modem,  confine  men  in  a  dungeon;  make  them 
think  the  same  thought,  and  speak  the  same  word,  and 
worship  in  the  same  way ;  Jesus  would  leave  them  the 
range  of  the  world,  scope  and  verge  enough.  Where 
the  spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty;  the  liberty 
of  perfect  obedience;  the  largest  liberty  of  the  sons 
of  God.  Reason  and  love  are  hostile  to  every  limited 
form  of  religion,  which  says,  believe,  believe;  they 
welcome  that  religion  of  Jesus,  which  says,  be  perfect 
as  God. 

2.  A  second  excellence  is  this :  It  is  not  a  system  of 
theological  or  moral  doctrines,  but  a  method  of  religion 
and  life.  It  lays  down  no  positive  creed  to  be  be- 
lieved in;  commands  no  ceremonial  action  to  be  done; 
it  would  make  the  man  perfectly  obedient  to  God,  leav- 
ing his  thoughts  and  actions  for  reason  and  conscience 
to  govern.  It  widens  the  sphere  of  thought  and  life ; 
it  reaffirms  some  of  the  great  religious  truths  implied 
in  man's  nature;  shows  their  practical  application  and 
its  result.  A  religious  system,  with  its  forms,  and  its 
ritual,  lops  off  the  sacred  peculiarities  of  individual 
character;  chains  reason  and  fetters  the  will;  seeks 
to  unite  men  in  arbitrary  creeds  and  forms  —  where 
the  union  can  be  but  superficial  and  worthless  —  and 
it  lays  stress  on  externals.  This  Christianity  insists 
on  rightness  before  God ;  ties  no  man  down  to  worship 
in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  in  Jerusalem;  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  or  the  last  day ;  in  the  church  or  the 
fields;  socially  or  in  private;  with  a  creed,  ritual, 
priest,  symbol,  spoken  prayer,  or  without  these.  It 
breaks  every  yoke,  seen  or  invisible ;  bids  men  worship 
in  love.  It  does  not  ask  man  to  call  himself  a  Chris- 
tian,  or   his    religion    Christianity.     It   bids   him   be 


CHRISTIANITY  261 

perfect ;  never  says  to  reason,  thus  f sfr  and  no  further ; 
forbids  no  freedom  of  inquiry,  nor  wide  reach  of 
thought ;  fears  nothing  from  the  truth,  or  for  it.  It 
never  encourages  that  cowardice  of  soul  which  dares 
not  think,  nor  look  facts  in  the  face,  but  sneaks  behind 
altars,  texts,  traditions,  because  they  are  of  the  fathers ; 
that  cowardice  which  counts  a  mistake  of  the  apostles 
better  than  truth  in  you  and  me,  and  which  reads  both 
piety  and  common  sense  out  of  its  church  because  they, 
will  not  bow  the  knee  nor  say  the  creed.  Christianity 
asks  no  man  to  believe  the  Old  Testament,  or  the  New 
Testament,  the  divine  infallibility  of  Moses  or  Jesus, 
but  to  prove  all  things ;  hold  fast  what  is  good ;  do  the 
will  of  the  father ;  love  man  and  God. 

The  method  of  such  a  Christianity  is  a  very  plain 
one.  Obedience,  not  to  that  old  teacher,  or  this  new 
one ;  but  to  God,  who  filleth  all  in  all,  to  his  law  written 
on  the  tablets  of  the  heart.  It  exhorts  men  to  a  di- 
vine life,  not  as  something  foreign  but  as  something 
native  and  welcome  to  man.  It  is  the  life  of  many 
systems  of  religion,  theology,  and  practical  morality, 
as  the  ocean  has  many  waves  and  bubbles ;  but  these 
are  not  Christianity  more  than  a  wreath  of  foam  is  the 
Atlantic. 

3.  It  differs  from  others  in  its  eminently  practical 
character.  It  counts  a  manly  life  better  than  saying 
"  Lord,  Lord ; "  puts  mercy  before  sacrifice,  and  pro- 
nounces a  gift  to  man  better  than  a  gift  to  God.  It 
dwells  much  on  the  brotherhood  of  men;  annihilates 
national  and  family  distinctions;  all  are  sons  of  God, 
and  brothers ;  Man  is  to  love  his  brother  as  himself, 
and  bless  him,  and  thus  serve  God.  It  values  man 
above  all  things.     Is  he  poor,  weak,  ignorant,  sinful, 


^62  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

it  does  not  scorn  him,  but  labors  all  the  more  to  relieve 
the  fallen.  It  sees  the  "  archangel  ruined "  in  the 
sickly  servant  of  Sin.  It  looks  on  the  immortal  na- 
ture of  man,  and  all  little  distinctions  vanish.  It  bids 
each  man  labor  for  his  brother,  and  never  give  over 
till  ignorance,  want,  and  sin  are  banished  from  the 
earth;  to  count  a  brother's  sufferings,  sorrows, 
wrongs,  as  our  sufferings,  sorrows,  and  wrongs,  and 
redress  themw  It  says,  carry  the  truth  to  all.  Before 
Jesus,  the  Greek,  the  Roman,  and  the  Jew,  went  to 
other  lands  to  learn  their  arts,  customs,  and  laws,  study 
their  religion.  Jesus  sent  his  disciples  to  teach  and 
serve;  only,  Buddha  and  his  followers  had  done  it  be- 
fore. 

This  Christianity  allows  no  man  to  sever  himself 
from  the  race,  making  this  world  an  inn  for  him  to  take 
his  ease.  It  does  nothing  for  God's  sake,  each  good 
act  for  its  own  sake ;  sends  the  devotee  from  his  prayers 
to  make  peace  with  his  brother;  does  not  rob  a  man's 
father  to  enrich  God;  nor  fancy  he  needs  any  thing, 
sacrifice,  creeds,  fasts,  or  prayers.  It  makes  worship 
consist  in  being  good,  and  doing  good;  faith  within 
and  works  without;  the  test  of  greatness  the  amount 
of  good  done.  Thus  it  is  not  a  religion  of  temples, 
days,  ceremonies,  but  of  the  street,  the  fire-side,  the 
field-side.  Its  temple  is  all  space;  its  worship  in 
spirit  and  truth;  its  ceremony  a  good  life,  blameless 
and  beautiful ;  its  priest  the  spirit  of  God  in  the  soul ; 
its  altar  a  heart  undefiled.  It  places  duty  above  cant. 
It  promises,  as  the  result  of  obedience  —  oneness  with 
God,  and  inspiration  from  himJ  It  offers  no  substi- 
tute for  this,  for  nothing  can  do  the  work  of  good- 
ness and  piety  but  goodness  and  piety.  It  offers  no 
magic  to  wipe  sin  out  of  the  soul,  and  insure  the  re- 


CHRISTIANITY  263 

wards  of  religion  without  sharing  its  fatigues;  knows 
nothing  of  vicarious  goodness.  Its  heaven  is  doing 
God's  will  now  and  forever;  thus  it  makes  no  antithesis 
between  this  and  the  next  life.  It  puts  nothing  be- 
tween men  and  God;  makes  Jesus  our  friend  not  our 
master;  a  teacher  who  blesses,  not  a  tyrant  who  com^ 
mands  us;  a  brother  who  pleads  with  us,  not  an  at- 
torney who  pleads  with  God,  still  less  a  sacrifice  for  sins 
he  never  committed,  and  therefore  could  not  expiate. 

These  are  not  the  peculiarities  oftenest  insisted  on, 
and  taught  as  Christianity;  it  is  not  the  mystery,  the 
miraculous  birth,  the  incarnation,  the  God-man,  the 
miracles,  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  the  transfigura- 
tion, the  atonement,  the  resurrection,  the  angels,  the 
ascension,  the  "  five  points ;" —  other  religions  have 
enough  of  such  things,  Jesus  had  but  little. 

Notwithstanding  the  anticipation  of  the  doctrines 
of  Jesus  centuries  before  him, —  Christianity  was  a 
new  thing;  new  in  its  spirit,  proved  new  by  the  life  it 
wakened  in  the  world.  Alas,  such  is  not  the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  churches  at  this  day,  nor  at  any  day 
since  the  crucifixion;  but  is  it  not  the  Christianity  of 
Christ,  the  one  only  religion,  everlasting,  ever  blest?  * 

*  See  the  Critical  and  Miscellaneous  Writings  of  Theodore 
Parker;  Boston,  1843,  Art.  I.  and  X.  Sermons  of  Theism, 
Serm.  III.-VI.  Also,  Relation  between  the  Ecclesiastical  In- 
stitutions and  the  Religious  Consciousness  of  the  American 
People;  and  Function  of  a  Teacher  of  Religion. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER 
OF  JESUS  OF  NAZARETH 

Reverence  and  tradition  have  woven  about  Jesus 
such  a  shining  veil,  that  with  the  imperfect  and  doubt- 
ful materials  in  our  hands,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine 
in  detail  and  with  minuteness,  the  character  that  moved 
and  lived  among  his  fellow  men,  and  commenced  what 
may  be  called  the  Christian  movement.  The  difficulty 
is  twofold:  to  avoid  traditional  prejudice,  and  to  get 
at  the  facts.  Perhaps  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the 
pure  fact  from  the  legendary  and  mythological  dra- 
pery that  surrounds  it.  Besides,  the  Gospels  pretend 
to  cover  but  a  few  months  of  his  active  life.  Still  some 
conclusion  may  be  reached.  From  Christianity  we 
have  separated  the  life  and  character  of  Jesus,  that  we 
might  try  the  doctrine  by  absolute  religion;  it  now 
remains  to  examine  the  life  of  the  man  by  the  standard 
himself  has  given. 

I.  The  Negative  Side,  or  the  Limitations  of  Jesus, 

It  is  apparent  that  Jesus  shared  the  erroneous  no- 
tions of  the  times  respecting  devils,  possessions,  and 
demonology  in  general;  respecting  the  character  of 
God,  and  the  eternal  punishment  he  prepares  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels,  and  for  a  large  part  of  mankind. 
If  we  may  credit  the  most  trustworthy  of  the  Gospels 
he  was  profoundly  in  error  on  these  important  points, 
whereon  absurd  doctrines  have  still  a  most  pernicious 

^64i 


CHRISTIANITY  265 

influence  In  Christendom.  But  it  wotlld  be  too  much 
to  expect  a  man  "  about  thirty  years  of  age  "  in  Pales- 
tine, in  the  first  century,  to  have  outgrown  what  is  still 
the  doctrine  of  learned  ministers  all  over  the  Christian 
world. 

He  was  mistaken  in  his  interpretation  of  the  Old 
Testament,  if  we  may  take  the  word  of  the  Gospels. 
But  if  he  supposed  that  the  writers  of  the  Pentateuch, 
the  Psalms,  and  the  Prophecies,  spoke  of  him;  if  he 
applied  their  poetic  figures  to  himself,  it  is  yet  but  a 
trifling  mistake,  aff^ecting  a  man's  head  not  his  heart. 
It  is  no  more  necessary  for  Jesus  than  for  Luther  to 
understand  all  ancient  literature,  and  be  familiar  with 
criticism  and  antiquities;  though  with  men  who  think 
religion  rests  on  his  infallibility,  it  must  be  indeed  a 
very  hard  case  for  their  belief  in  Christianity. 

Sometimes  he  is  said  to  be  an  enthusiast,*  who  hoped 
to  found  a  visible  kingdom  in  Judea,  by  miraculous  aid 
—  as  the  prophets  had  distinctly  foretold  their  "  Mes- 
siah "  should  do, —  that  he  should  be  a  king  on  earth, 
and  his  disciples  also,  not  forgetting  Judas,  should  sit 
on  twelve  thrones  and  judge  the  restored  tribes ;  that  he 
should  return  in  the  clouds.  Certainly  a  strong  case, 
very  strong,  may  he  made  out  from  the  synoptics  to 
favor  this  charge.  But  what  then.?  Even  if  the  fact 
be  admitted,  as  I  think  it  must  be,  it  does  not  militate 
with  his  morality  and  religion.  How  many  a  saint 
has  been  mistaken  in  such  matters !  His  honesty,  zeal, 
self-sacrifice,  heavenly  purity  still  shine  out  in  the 
whole  course  of  his  life.f 

*  See  in  Eusebius,  Demonstr.  Evangel.  Lib.  III.  C.  3,  the  noble 
passage  of  defending  him  from  the  charge,  often  brought  of  old 
time  —  of  seducing  the  people. 

t  On  this  point  see,  who  will,  the  charges  against  Jesus  in  the 
Wolfenbiittel,  Fragmente;  in  the  Writings  of  Wiinsch,  Bahrdt, 


^66  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Another  charge,  sometimes  brought  against  him,  and 
the  only  one  at  all  affecting  his  moral  and  religious 
character,  is  this;  that  he  denounces  his  opponents  in 
no  measured  terms ;  calls  the  Pharisees  "  hypocrites  " 
and  "  children  of  the  devil."  We  cannot  tell  how  far 
the  historians  have  added  to  the  fierceness  of  this  in- 
vective, but  the  general  fact  must  probably  remain, 
that  he  did  not  use  courteous  speech.  We  must  judge 
a  man  by  his  highest  moment.  His  denunciation  of 
sleek,  hollow  Pharisees,  say  some,  is  certainly  lower 
than  the  prayer,  "  Father,  forgive  them ;"  not  con- 
sistent with  the  highest  thought  of  humanity.  But  if 
such  would  consider  the  youth  of  the  man,  it  were  a 
very  venial  error  —  to  make  the  worst  of  it.  The  case 
called  for  vigorous  treatment.  Shall  a  man  say, 
"  Peace,  peace,"  when  there  is  no  peace?  Sharp  reme- 
dies are  for  inveterate  and  critical  disease.  It  is  not 
with  honeyed  words,  neither  then  nor  now,  that  great 
sins  are  to  be  exposed.  It  is  a  pusillanimous  and  most 
mean-spirited  wisdom  that  demands  a  religious  man 
to  prophesy  smooth  things,  lest  indolence  be  rudely 
startled  from  his  sleep,  and  the  delicate  nerves  of  sin, 
grown  hoary  and  voluptuous  in  his  hypocrisy,  be 
smartly  twitched.  It  seems  unmanly  and  absurd  to 
say  a  man  filled  with  divine  ideas  should  have  no  indig- 
nation at  the  world's  wrong.  Rather  let  it  be  said. 
No  man's  indignation  should  be  like  his,  so  deep,  so 
uncompromising,  but  so  holy  and  full  of  love.  Let  it 
be  indignation ;  not  personal  spleen ;  call  sin  sin,  sin- 
ners by  their  right  name. 

Yet  in  this  general  and  righteous,  though  to  some  it 

Paalzow,  and  Salvador.  See  also  Hennel,  ubi  sup.  Ch.  XVI.; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  Reinhard's  Plan  of  the  Founder  of 
Christianity;  Andover,  1831,  and  Furness,  ubi  sup.  passim 
[See  p.  260],  and  UUmann,  Siindlosigkeit  Jesu. 


CHRISTIANITY  267 

might  seem  too  vehement,  indignation  against  men 
when  he  speaks  of  them  as  a  class  and  representatives 
of  an  idea,  there  is  no  lack  of  charity,  none  of  love, 
when  he  speaks  with  an  individual.  He  does  not  speak 
harshly  to  that  young  man  who  went  away  sorrowful, 
his  great  possessions  on  the  one  hand  and  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  on  the  other;  does  not  call  Judas  a 
traitor,  and  Simon  Peter  a  false  liar  as  he  was;  says 
only  to  James  and  John  —  ambitious  youths  —  "  They 
know  not  what  they  ask  " ;  never  addresses  scornful  talk 
to  a  Pharisee,  or  long-robed  doctor  of  the  law,  Herod- 
ians  or  scribes,  spite  of  their  wide  phylacteries,  their 
love  of  uppermost  seats,  their  devouring  of  widow's 
houses  in  private,  their  prayers  and  alms  to  be  seen  of 
men.  He  only  states  the  fact,  but  plainly  and 
strongly,  to  their  very  face.  Even  for  these  men  his 
soul  is  full  of  affection.  He  could  honor  an  Herodian ; 
pray  for  a  scribe;  love  even  a  Pharisee.  It  was  not 
hatred,  personal  indignation,  but  love  of  men,  which 
lit  that  burning  zeal,  and  denounced  such  as  sat  in 
Moses'  seat,  boasting  themselves  children  of  Abraham, 
when  they  were  children  of  the  devil,  and  did  his  works 
daily  —  dutiful  children  of  the  father  of  lies.  How 
he  wailed  like  a  child  for  the  mother  that  bore  him: 
"  Oh  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the 
prophets  and  stonest  them  that  are  sent  unto  thee ! " 
How  he  prayed  like  a  mother  for  her  desperate  son, 
*'  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  Are  these  the  words  of  one  that  could  hate  even 
the  wickedest  of  the  deceitful?  Who  then  can  love 
his  fellow  men.? 


268  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

II.  The  Positive  Side,  or  the  Excellences  of  Jesus. 

In  estimating  the  character  of  Jesus  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  he  died  at  an  age  when  a  man  has  not 
reached  his  fullest  vigor.  The  great  works  of  creative 
intellect;  the  maturest  products  of  man;  all  the  deep 
and  settled  plans  of  reforming  the  world,  come  from  a 
period,  when  experience  gives  a  wider  field  as  the  basis 
of  hope.  Socrates  was  but  an  embryo  sage  till  long 
after  the  age  of  Jesus.  Poems  and  philosophies  that 
live,  come  at  a  later  date.  Now  here  we  see  a  young 
man,  but  little  more  than  thirty  years  old,  with  no 
advantage  of  position ;  the  son  and  companion  of  rude 
people;  born  in  a  town  whose  inhabitants  were  wicked 
to  a  proverb ;  of  a  nation  above  all  others  distinguished 
for  their  superstition,  for  national  pride,  exaltation  of 
themselves  and  contempt  for  all  others;  in  an  age  of 
singular  corruption,  when  the  substance  of  religion 
had  faded  out  from  the  mind  of  its  anointed  ministers, 
and  sin  had  spread  wide  among  a  people  turbulent, 
oppressed,  and  downtrodden;  a  man  ridiculed  for  his 
lack  of  knowledge,  in  this  nation  of  forms,  of  hypocrit- 
ical priests  and  corrupt  people,  falls  back  on  simple 
morality,  simple  religion,  unites  in  himself  the  sub- 
limest  precepts  and  divinest  practices,  thus  more  than 
realizing  the  dream  of  prophets  and  sages;  rises  free 
from  so  many  prejudices  of  his  age,  nation,  or  sect; 
gives  free  range  to  the  spirit  of  God  in  his  breast ; 
sets  aside  the  law,  sacred  and  time-honored  as  it  was, 
its  forms,  its  sacrifices,  its  temple  and  its  priests ;  puts 
away  the  doctors  of  the  law,  subtle,  learned,  irrefrag- 
able, and  pours  out  doctrines,  beautiful  as  the  light, 
sublime  as  heaven,  and  true  as  God.  The  philosophers, 
the  poets,  the  prophets,  the  rabbis, —  he  rises  above 


CHRISTIANITY  ^69 

them  all.  Yet  Nazareth  was  no  Atheits,  where  philos- 
ophy breathed  in  the  circumambient  air ;  it  had  neither 
porch  nor  lyceum,  not  even  a  school  of  the  prophets. 
Doubtless  he  had  his  errors,  his  follies,  faults,  and  sins 
even ;  it  is  idle  and  absurd  to  deny  it.  But  there  was 
a  divine  manhood  in  the  heart  of  this  youth.  Old 
teachers,  past  times,  the  dead  letter  of  forms  a  cen- 
tury deceased,  enslaved  his  fellow  men,  the  great,  the 
wise ;  what  were  they  to  him  ?  Let  the  dead  bury  their 
dead.  Men  had  reverence  for  institutions  so  old,  so 
deep-rooted,  so  venerably  bearded  with  the  moss  of  age. 
Should  not  he,  at  least,  with  that  sweet  conservatism 
of  a  pious  heart,  sacrifice  a  little  to  human  weakness, 
and  put  his  zeal,  faith,  piety,  into  the  old  religious 
form,  sanctified  by  his  early  recollections,  the  tender 
prayer  of  his  mother,  and  a  long  line  of  saints.?  New 
wine  must  be  put  into  new  bottles,  says  the  young  man, 
triumphing  over  a  sentiment,  natural  and  beautiful  in 
its  seeming;  triumphant  where  strife  is  most  perilous, 
victory  rarest  and  most  difficult.  The  priest  said. 
Keep  the  law  and  reverence  the  prophets.  Jesus  sums 
up  the  excellence  of  both.  Love  man  and  love  God, 
leaving  the  chaff  of  Moses,  and  the  husk  of  Ezekiel, 
with  their  "  Thus-saith-the-Lord,"  to  go  to  their  own 
place,  where  the  wind  might  carry  them. 

He  looked  around  him  and  saw  the  wicked,  men  who 
had  served  in  the  tenth  legion  of  sin,  pierced  with  the 
lances  and  torn  with  the  shot ;  men  scarred  and  seamed 
all  over  with  wounds  dishonorably  got  in  that  service; 
men  squalid  with  this  hideous  disease,  their  moral  sense 
blinded,  their  nature  perverse,  themselves  fallen  from 
the  estate  of  Godliness  for  which  they  were  made,  and 
unable,  so  they  fancied  to  lift  themselves  up ;  men  who 
called  good  evil,  and  evil  good, —  he  bade  them  rise  up 


STO  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

and  walk,  waiting  no  longer  for  a  fancied  redeemer 
that  would  never  come.  He  told  them  they  also  were 
men ;  children  of  God,  and  heirs  of  heaven,  would  they 
but  obey.  So  corrupt  were  they,  there  was  no  open 
vision  for  them :  the  voice  of  God  was  a  forgotten  sound 
in  their  bosoms.  To  them  he  said,  I  am  the  good 
Shepherd ;  follow  me.  At  the  sight  of  their  penitence 
he  says.  Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee:  go,  and  sin  no 
more.  Is  not  penitence  itself  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
the  dawn  of  reconciliation  with  God?  He  showed  men 
their  sin,  the  disease  of  the  soul  living  false  to  its  law ; 
told  them  their  salvation;  bade  them  obey  and  be 
blessed. 

He  saw  the  oppressor,  with  his  yoke  and  heavy  bur- 
den for  man's  neck;  the  iron  that  enters  the  soul; 
men  who  were  the  corrupters,  the  bane,  the  ruin  of  the 
land;  base  men  with  an  honorable  front;  low  men, 
crawling,  as  worms,  their  loathsome  track  in  high 
places;  deceitful  hucksters  of  salvation,  making  God's 
house  of  prayer  a  den  of  thieves,  fair  as  marble  with- 
out, but  all  rottenness  within.  What  wonder  if  love, 
though  the  fairest  of  God's  daughters,  at  sight  of  such 
baseness  pours  out  the  burning  indignation  of  a  man 
stung  with  the  tyranny  of  the  strong,  ashamed  at  the 
patience  of  mankind;  the  word  of  a  man  fearless  of 
all  but  to  be  false  when  truth  and  duty  bid  him  speak  ? 
To  call  the  whelp  of  sin  a  devil's  child  —  is  that  a 
crime.?  Doubtless  it  is,  in  men  stirred  by  passion; 
not  in  a  soul  filled  to  the  brim  and  overflowing  with 
love. 

He  looks  on  the  nation,  the  children  of  pious  Abra- 
ham; men  for  whom  Moses  made  laws,  and  Samuel 
held  the  sceptre,  and  David  prayed,  and  prophets  ad- 
monished in  vain,  pouring  out  their  blood  as  water; 


CHRISTIANITY  271 

men  for  whom  psalmist  and  priest  and*  s6er  and  kings 
had  prayed  and  wept  in  vain, —  well  might  he  cry, 
'*  Oh  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem."  Few  heard  his  cries. 
That  mightiest  heart  that  ever  beat,  stirred  by  the 
spirit  of  God,  how  it  wrought  in  his  bosom !  What 
words  of  rebuke,  of  comfort,  counsel,  admonition, 
promise,  hope,  did  he  pour  out ;  words  that  stir  the  soul 
as  summer  dews  call  up  the  faint  and  sickly  grass! 
What  profound  instruction  in  his  proverbs  and  dis- 
courses; what  wisdom  in  his  homely  sayings,  so  rich 
with  Jewish  life;  what  deep  divinity  of  soul  in  his 
prayers,  his  action,  sympathy,  resignation!  Persecu- 
tion comes ;  he  bears  it ;  contempt,  it  is  nothing  to  him. 
Persecuted  in  one  city,  he  flees  into  another.  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  say.  He  speaketh  against  Moses;  he 
replies.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  They 
look  back  to  the  past,  and  say.  We  have  Abraham 
to  our  father;  he  looks  to  the  comforter,  and  says, 
Call  no  man  your  father  on  earth.  They  say.  He 
eats  bread  with  unwashed  hands,  plucks  com  and  re- 
lieves disease  on  the  holy  Sabbath  day,  when  even  God 
rested  from  his  labors ;  he  says,  Worship  the  father  in 
spirit  and  in  truth.  They  look  out  to  their  law,  its 
festivals,  its  Levites,  its  chief  priests,  the  ancient  and 
honorable  of  the  earth,  the  temple  and  the  tithe;  he 
looks  in  to  the  soul,  purity,  peace,  mercy,  goodness, 
love,  religion.  The  extremes  meet  often  in  this  world. 
Comedy  and  tragedy  jostle  each  other  in  every  dirty 
lane.  But  here  it  was  the  flesh  and  the  devil  on  one 
side,  and  the  holy  spirit  on  the  other. 


CHAPTER  VII 

MISTAKES  ABOUT  JESUS  — HIS  RECEPTION 
AND  INFLUENCE 

We  often  err  in  our  estimate  of  this  man.  The 
image  comes  to  us,  not  of  that  lowly  one ;  the  carpenter 
of  Nazareth ;  the  companion  of  the  rudest  men ;  hard- 
handed  and  poorly  clad;  not  having  where  to  lay  his 
head ;  "  who  would  gladly  have  stayed  his  morning 
appetite  on  wild  figs,  between  Bethany  and  Jerusalem ;" 
hunted  by  his  enemies ;  stoned  out  of  a  city,  and  flee- 
ing for  his  life.  We  take  the  fancy  of  poets  and 
painters ;  a  man  clothed  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  ob- 
sequiously attended  by  polished  disciples,  who  watched 
every  movement  of  his  lips,  impatient  for  the  oracle  to 
speak.  We  conceive  of  a  man  who  was  never  in  sin, 
in  error,  or  even  in  fear  or  doubt;  whose  course  was 
all  marked  out  before  him,  so  that  he  could  not  miss 
the  way.  But  such  it  was  not,  if  the  writers  tell  truly ; 
nay,  such  it  could  not  be.  Did  he  say,  I  came  to  fulfill 
the  law  and  the  prophets,  and  it  is  easier  for  heaven 
and  earth  to  pass,  than  for  one  jot  or  tittle  of  the  law 
to  fail?  Then  he  must  have  doubted,  and  thought 
often  and  with  a  throbbing  heart,  before  he  could  say, 
I  am  not  come  to  bring  peace,  but  a  sword ;  to  light  a 
fire,  and  would  God  it  were  kindled :  many  times  before 
the  fulness  of  peace  dwelt  in  him,  and  he  could  say: 
The  hour  cometh  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshipper 
shall  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth ! 

We  do  not  conceive  of  that  sickness  of  soul  which 
must  have  come  at  the  coldness  of  the  wise  men,  the 
212 


CHRISTIANITY  ^73 

heartlessness  of  the  worldly,  at  the  sttipidity  and  self- 
ishness of  the  disciples.  We  do  not  think  how  that 
heart,  so  sensitive,  so  great,  so  finely  tuned,  and  deli- 
cately touched,  must  have  been  pained  to  feel  there 
was  no  other  heart  to  give  an  answering  beat.  We 
know  not  the  long  and  bitter  agony  which  went  before 
the  triumph-cry  of  faith,  I  am  not  alone,  for  the  Father 
is  with  me ;  we  do  not  heed  that  f  aintness  of  soul  which 
comes  of  hope  deferred,  of  aspirations  all  unshared  by 
men,  a  bitter  mockery,  the  only  human  reply,  the  oft- 
repeated  echo  to  his  prayer  of  faith.  We  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  keep  unstained  our  decent  robe  of  goodness 
when  we  herd  only  with  the  good  and  shun  the  kennel 
where  sin.  and  misery,  parent  and  child,  are  huddled 
with  their  rags ;  we  do  not  appreciate  that  strong  and 
healthy  pureness  of  soul  which  dwelt  daily  with  in- 
iquity, sat  at  meat  with  publicans  and  sinners,  and 
yet  with  such  cleanness  of  life  as  made  even  sin  ashamed 
of  its  ugliness,  but  hopeful  to  amend.  Rarely,  almost 
never,  do  we  see  the  vast  divinity  within  that  soul, 
which,  new  though  it  was  in  the  flesh,  at  one  step  goes 
before  the  world  whole  thousands  of  years;  judges  the 
race;  decides  for  us  questions  we  dare  not  agitate  as 
yet,  and  breathes  the  very  breath  of  heavenly  love* 
The  Christian  world,  aghast  at  this  venerable  beauty 
in  the  flesh;  transfixed  with  wonder  as  such  a  spirit 
rises  in  his  heavenly  flight,  veils  its  face  and  says.  It 
is  a  God ;  such  thoughts  are  not  for  men ;  the  life  be- 
trays the  deity.  And  is  it  not  the  divine  which  the 
flesh  enshrouds ;  to  speak  in  figures,  the  brightness  of 
his  glory,  the  express  image  of  his  person;  the  clear 
resemblance  of  the  all-beautiful;  the  likeness  of  God 
in  which  man  is  made.f*     But  alas  for  us,  we  read  our 

lesson  backward;  make  a  god  of  our  brother,  who 
III— 18 


S74.  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

should  be  our  servant  and  helper.  So  the  new-fledged 
eaglets  may  see  the  parent  bird,  slow  rising  at  first  with 
laborious  efforts,  then  cleaving  the  air  with  sharp  and 
steady  wing,  and  soaring  through  the  clouds,  with  eye 
undazzled,  to  meet  the  sun;  they  may  say,  We  can 
only  pray  to  the  strong  pinion.  But  anon,  their  wings 
shall  grow,  and  flutter  impatient  for  congenial  skies 
and  their  parent's  example  guide  them  on.  But  men 
are  still  so  sunk  in  sloth,  so  blind  and  deaf  with  sensual- 
ity and  sin,  they  will  not  see  the  greatness  of  man  in 
him,  who,  falling  back  on  the  inspiration  God  nor- 
mally imparts,  asks  no  aid  of  mortal  men,  but  stands 
alone,  serene  in  awful  loveliness,  not  fearing  the  roar 
of  the  street,  the  hiss  of  the  temple,  the  contempt  of  his 
townsmen,  the  coldness  of  this  disciple,  the  treachery 
of  that ;  who  still  bore  up,  had  freest  communion  when 
all  alone;  was  deserted,  never  forsaken;  betrayed,  but 
still  safe ;  crucified,  but  all  the  more  triumphant.  This 
was  the  victory  of  the  Soul :  a  Man  of  the  highest  type. 
Blessed  be  God  that  so  much  manliness  has  been  lived 
out,  and  stands  there  yet,  a  lasting  monument  to  mark 
how  high  the  tides  of  divine  life  have  risen  in  the  human 
world.  It  bids  us  take  courage,  and  be  glad,  for  what 
man  has  done,  he  may  do ;  yea  more. 

"Jesus,  there  is  no  dearer  name  than  thine. 
Which  Time  has  blazoned  on  his  mighty  scroll; 
No  wreaths  nor  garlands  ever  did  entwine 
So  fair  a  temple  of  so  vast  a  soul. 
There  every  Virtue  set  his  triumph-seal; 
Wisdom  conjoined  with  Strength  and  radiant  Grac^ 
In  a  sweet  copy  heaven  to  reveal, 
And  stamp  perfection  on  a  mortal  face; 
Once  on  the  earth  wert  thou,  before  men's  eyes. 
That  did  not  half  thy  beauteous  brightness  see; 
E'en  as  the  emmet  does  not  read  the  skies. 
Nor  our  weak  orbs  look  through  immensity. 


CHRISTIANITY  275 

Once  on  the  earth  wert  thou,  a  living  Shtine, 

Wherein  conjoining  dwelt,  the  good,  the  lovely,  the  divine."* 

Here  was  the  greatest  soul  of  all  the  sons  of  men ;  a 
man  of  genius  for  rehgion;  one  before  whom  the  ma- 
jestic mind  of  Grecian  sages,  and  of  Hebrew  seers  must 
veil  its  face.  Try  him  as  we  try  other  teachers.  They 
deliver  their  word,  find  a  few  waiting  for  the  consola- 
tion, who  accept  the  new  tidings,  follow  the  new  method, 
and  soon  go  beyond  their  teacher,  though  less  mighty 
minds  than  he.  Such  is  the  case  with  each  founder  of 
a  school  in  philosophy,  each  sect  in  religion.  Though 
humble  men,  we  see  what  Socrates  and  Luther  never 
saw.  But  eighteen  centuries  have  past  since  the  tide  of 
humanity  rose  so  high  in  Jesus ;  what  man,  what  sect, 
what  church  has  mastered  his  noblest  thought;  com- 
prehended his  method,  and  fully  applied  it  to  life !  Let 
the  world  answer  in  its  cry  of  anguish.  Men  have 
parted  his  raiment  among  them ;  cast  lots  for  his  seam- 
less coat;  but  that  spirit  which  toiled  so  manfully  in  a 
world  of  sin  and  death;  which  did  and  suffered,  and 
overcame  the  world, —  is  that  found,  possessed,  under- 
stood? Nay,  is  it  sought  for  and  recommended  by  any; 
of  our  churches? 

But  no  excellence  of  aim;  no  sublimity  of  achieve- 
ment could  screen  him  from  distress  and  suffering. 
The  fate  of  all  saviours  was  his  —  despised  and  rejected 
of  men.  His  father's  children  "  did  not  believe  in 
him ;"  his  townsmen  "  were  offended  at  him,"  and  said, 
"  whence  hath  he  this  wisdom  ?  Is  not  this  the  son  of 
Joseph,  the  carpenter?  "  Those  learned  scribes  who 
came  all  the  way  from  Jerusalem  to  entangle  him  in  his 

[*  By  Theodore  Parker  himself.] 


276  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

talk,  could  see  only  this,  "  He  hath  Beelzebub."  "  Art 
thou  greater  than  our  father  Jacob?  "  a  conservative 
might  ask.  Some  said,  "  He  is  a  good  man."  "  Ay," 
said  others,  but  "  He  speaketh  against  the  temple." 
The  sharp-eyed  Pharisees  saw  nothing  marvellous  in 
the  case.  Why  not?  They  were  looking  for  signs  and 
wonders  in  the  heavens;  not  sermons  on  the  mount, 
and  a  "  Wo-unto-you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites;" they  looked  for  the  son  of  David,  a  king,  to 
rule  over  men's  bodies,  not  the  son  of  a  peasant-girl, 
born  in  a  stable,  the  companion  of  fishermen,  the  friend 
of  publicans  and  sinners,  who  spoke  to  the  outcast, 
brought  in  the  lost  sheep,  and  so  ruled  in  the  soul, 
his  kingdom  not  of  this  world.  They  said,  "  He  is  a 
Galilean,  and  of  course  no  prophet."  If  he  called  men 
away  from  the  senses  to  the  soul,  they  said,  "  He  is  be- 
side himself."  "  Have  any  of  the  rulers  or  the  Phari- 
sees believed  on  him?  "  asked  some  one  who  thought 
the  answer  would  settle  the  matter.  When  he  said,  if 
a  man  live  by  God's  law,  "  he  shall  never  see  death," 
they  exclaimed,  those  precious  shepherds  of  the  people, 
"  Now  we  know  thou  hast  a  devil,  and  art  mad.  Abra- 
ham is  dead,  and  the  prophets !  Art  thou  greater  than 
our  father  Abraham?  Who  are  you,  sir?  "  What  a 
faithful  report  would  scribes  and  Pharisees  and  doc- 
tors of  the  law,  have  made  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount;  what  omissions  and  redundancies  would  they 
have  not  found  in  it;  what  blasphemy  against  Moses 
and  the  law,  and  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  and  the 
Urim  and  the  Thummim,  and  the  meat-offering  and  the 
new-moons;  what  neglect  to  mention  the  phylacteries, 
and  the  shewbread  and  the  Levite,  and  the  priest  and 
the  tithes,  and  the  other  great  "  essentials  of  religion ;" 
what  "  infidelity  "  must  these  pious  souls  have  detected ! 


CHRISTIANITY  ^TT 

How  must  they  have  classed  him'  with"  Korah,  Dathan, 
and  Abiram,  the  mythological  "  Tom-Paines  "  of  old 
time;  with  the  men  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah!  The 
popular  praise  of  the  young  Nazarene,  with  his  divine 
life  and  lip  of  fire ;  the  popular  shout,  "  Hosannah  to 
the  Son  of  David,"  was  no  doubt  "  a  stench  in  the 
nostrils  of  the  righteous."  "  When  the  son  of  man 
Cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth?  "  Find  faith? 
He  comes  to  bring  it.  It  is  only  by  crucified  redeemers 
that  the  world  is  "  saved."  Prophets  are  doomed  to  be 
stoned;  apostles  to  be  sawn  asunder.  The  world 
knoweth  its  own  and  loveth  them.  Even  so  let  it  be; 
the  stoned  prophet  is  not  without  his  reward.  The 
balance  of  God  is  even. 

Yet  there  were  men  who  heard  the  new  word.  Truth 
never  yet  fell  dead  in  the  streets;  it  has  such  affinity 
with  the  soul  of  man,  the  seed,  however  broadcast, 
will  catch  somewhere,  and  produce  its  hundred-fold. 
Some  kept  his  sayings  and  pondered  them  in  their 
hearts.  Others  heard  him  gladly.  Did  priests  and  Le- 
vites  stop  their  ears  ?  Publicans  and  harlots  went  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  before  them.  Those  blessed  wo^ 
men,  whose  hearts  God  has  sown  deepest  with  the 
orient  pearl  of  faith ;  they  who  ministered  to  him  in  his 
wants,  washed  his  feet  with  tears  of  penitence,  and 
wiped  them  with  the  hairs  of  their  head,  was  it  in  vain 
he  spoke  to  them?  Alas  for  the  anointed  priest,  the 
child  of  Levi,  the  son  of  Aaron,  men  who  shut  up  in- 
spiration in  old  books,  and  believed  God  was  asleep. 
They  stumbled  in  darkness,  and  fell  into  the  ditch. 
But  doubtless  there  was  many  a  tear-stained  face  that 
brightened  like  fires  new  stirred  as  truth  spoke  out  of 
Jesus'  lips.  His  words  swayed  the  multitude  as  pen- 
dant vines  swing  in  the  summer  wind ;  as  the  spirit  of 


278  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

God  moved  on  the  waters  of  chaos,  and  said,  "  Let  there 
be<  hght,"  and  there  was  light.  No  doubt  many  a  rude 
fisherman  of  Gennesareth  heard  his  words  with  a  heart 
bounding  and  scarce  able  to  keep  in  his  bosom,  went 
home  a  new  man,  with  a  legion  of  angels  in  his  breast, 
and  from  that  day  lived  a  life  divine  and  beautiful.  No 
doubt,  on  the  other  hand,  Rabbi  Kozeb  Ben  Shatan, 
when  he  heard  of  this  eloquent  Nazarene,  and  his  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount,  said  to  his  disciples  in  private  at 
Jerusalem,  This  new  doctrine  will  not  injure  us,  pru- 
dent and  educated  men;  we  know  that  men  may  wor- 
ship as  well  out  of  the  temple  as  in  it ;  a  burnt-offering 
is  nothing ;  the  ritual  of  no  value ;  the  Sabbath  like  any 
other  day;  the  Law  faulty  in  many  things,  offensive 
in  some,  and  no  more  from  God  than  other  laws  equally 
good.  We  know  that  the  priesthood  is  a  human  affair, 
originated  and  managed  like  other  human  affairs.  We 
may  confess  all  this  to  ourselves,  but  what  is  the  use  of 
telling  of  it.?  The  people  wish  to  be  deceived;  let 
themi.  The  Pharisee  will  behave  wisely  like  a  Phari- 
see —  for  he  sees  the  eternal  fitness  of  things  —  even  if 
these  doctrines  should  be  proclaimed.  But  this  people, 
who  know  not  the  law,  what  will  become  of  them? 
Simon  Peter,  James  and  John,  those  poor  unlettered 
fishermen,  on  the  lake  of  Galilee,  to  whom  we  gave 
a  farthing  and  the  priestly  blessing  in  our  summer  ex- 
cursion, what  will  become  of  them  when  told  that  every 
word  of  the  law  did  not  come  straight  out  of  the 
mouth  of  Jehovah,  and  the  ritual  is  nothing!  They 
will  go  over  to  the  flesh  and  the  devil,  and  be  lost.  It 
is  true,  that  the  law  and  the  prophets  are  well  summed 
up  in  one  word,  love  God  and  man.  But  never  let  us 
sanction  the  saying ;  it  would  ruin  the  seed  of  Abraham, 


CHRISTIANITY  ^79 

keep  back  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  destroy  our  use- 
fulness.* 

Thus  went  it  at  Jerusalem.  The  new  word  was 
"  Blasphemy,"  the  new  prophet  an  "  Infidel,"  "  beside 
himself,"  had  "  a  devil."  But  at  Galilee,  things  took  a 
shape  somewhat  different;  one  which  blind  guides 
could  not  foresee.  The  common  people,  not  knowing 
the  law,  counted  him  a  prophet  come  up  from  the  dead, 
and  heard  him  gladly.  Yes,  thousands  of  men,  and 
women  also,  with  hearts  in  their  bosoms,  gathered  in 
the  field  and  pressed  about  him  in  the  city  and  the  des- 
ert place,  forgetful  of  hunger  and  thirst,  and  were  fed 
to  the  full  with  his  words,  so  deep  a  child  could  under- 
stand them;  James  and  John  leave  all  to  follow  him 
who  has  the  word  of  eternal  life ;  and  when  that  young 
carpenter  asks  Peter,  Whom  say  est  thou  that  I  am? 
it  has  been  revealed  to  that  poor  unlettered  fisherman, 
not  by  flesh  and  blood,  but  by  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
and  he  can  say,  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  son  of  the 
living  God.  The  Pharisee  went  his  way,  and  preached 
a  doctrine  that  he  knew  was  false;  the  fisherman  also 
went  his  way,  but  which  to  the  flesh  and  the  devil.?  f 

We  cannot  tell,  no  man  can  tell  the  feelings  which 
the  large  free  doctrines  of  such  humane  religion  awak- 
ened when  heard  for  the  first  time.  There  must  have 
been  many  a  Simeon  waiting  for  the  consolation ;  many 
a  Mary  longing  for  the  better  part;  many  a  soul  in 
cabins  and  cottages  and  stately  dwellings,  that  caught 
glimpses  of  the  same  truth  as  God's  light  shone 
through  some  crevice  which  piety  made  in  that  wall 
prejudice  and  superstition  had  built  up  betwixt  man 

*  Parker,  Miscellanies,  Art.  VII. ;  and  Speeches,  Vol.  I.  Art.  I. 
t  Parker,  Miscellanies,  Art.  XI, 


^80  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

and  God ;  men  who  scarce  dared  to  trust  that  revela- 
tion — "  too  good  to  be  true  " —  such  was  their  awe  of 
Moses,  their  reverence  for  the  priest.  To  them  the 
word  of  Jesus  must  have  sounded  divine ;  like  the  music 
of  their  home  sung  out  in  the  sky,  and  heard  in  a 
distant  land,  beguiling  toil  of  its  weariness,  pain  of  its 
sting,  affliction  of  despair.  There  must  have  been  men, 
sick  of  forms  which  had  lost  their  meaning;  pained 
with  the  open  secret  of  sacerdotal  hypocrisy;  hunger- 
ing and  thirsting  after  the  truth,  yet  whom  error,  and 
prejudice,  and  priestcraft  had  blinded  so  that  they 
dared  not  think  as  men,  nor  look  on  the  sunlight  God 
shed  upon  the  mind. 

But  see  what  a  work  it  has  wrought.  Men  could 
not  hold  the  world  in  their  bosoms ;  it  would  not  be 
still.  No  doubt  they  sought  —  those  rude  disciples  — 
after  their  teacher's  death,  to  quiet  the  matter  and  say 
nothing  about  it;  they  had  nerves  which  quivered  at 
the  touch  of  steel;  wives  and  children  whom  it  was 
hard  to  leave  behind  to  the  world's  uncertain  sympa- 
thy; respectable  friends  it  may  be,  who  said.  The  Old 
Law  did  very  well;  let  well  enough  alone;  the  people 
must  be  deceived  a  little;  the  world  can  never  be  much 
mended!  No  doubt  the  truth  stood  on  one  side,  and 
ease  on  the  other;  it  has  often  been  so.  Perhaps  the 
disciples  went  to  the  old  synagogue  more  sedulous 
than  before;  paid  tithes;  kept  the  new-moons;  were 
sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice;  made  low 
bows  to  the  Levite;  sought  his  savory  conversation, 
and  kept  the  rules  which  a  priest  gave  George  Fox. 
But  it  would  not  do.  There  was  too  much  truth  to  be 
hid.  Even  selfish  Simon  Peter  has  a  cloven  tongue 
of  fire  in  his  mouth,  and  he  and  the  disciples  go  to 


CHRISTIANITY  281 

their  work,  the  new  word  swelhng  in  their  laboring 
heart.* 

Then  came  the  strangest  contest  the  world  ever 
saw.  On  the  one  side  was  all  the  strength  of  the 
world  —  the  Jews  with  their  records,  and  the  hand  of 
Moses,  David,  and  Esaias ;  "  supernatural  records," 
that  go  back  to  the  birth  of  time;  their  law  derived 
from  Jehovah,  attested  by  miracles,  upheld  by  proph- 
ets, defended  by  priests,  children  of  Levi,  sons  of 
Aaron,  the  law  which  was  to  last  forever;  the  temple, 
forty  and  seven  years  in  being  built,  its  splendid 
ceremonies,  its  beautiful  gate  and  golden  porch;  there 
was  the  wealth  of  the  powerful;  the  pride,  the  self- 
interest,  the  prejudice  of  the  priestly  class ;  the  indiffer- 
ence of  the  worldly;  the  hatred  of  the  wicked;  the 
scorn  of  the  learned;  the  contempt  of  the  great.  On 
the  same  side  were  the  Greeks,  with  their  chaos  of  re- 
ligion, full  of  mingled  beauty  and  ugliness,  virtue  and 
vice,  piety  and  lust,  still  more  confounded  by  the  deep 
mysteries  of  the  priest,  the  cunning  speculations  of  the 
sophist,  the  awful  sublimity  of  the  sage,  by  the  sweet 
music  of  the  philosopher  and  moralist  and  poet,  who 
spoke  and  sung  of  man  and  God  in  strains  so  sweet  and 
touching;  there  were  rites  in  public ;  solemn  and  pomp- 
ous ceremonies,  processions,  festivals,  temples,  games 
to  captivate  that  wonderous  people;  there  were  secret 
mysteries,  to  charm  the  curious  and  attract  the 
thoughtful;  Greece,  with  her  arts,  her  science,  her 
heroes  and  her  gods,  her  muse  voluptuous  and  sweet. 
There  too  was  Rome,  the  queen  of  nations,  and  con- 
queror of  the  world,  who  sat  on  her  seven-hilled  throne, 
and  cast  her  net  eastward  and  southward  and  north- 

*  See  Sermon  of  the  Relation  of  Jesus  to  his  Age  and  the 
Ages,  by  Theodore  Parker  in  Speeches,  Vol.  I.  Art.  I. 


282  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

ward  and  westward,  over  tower  and  city  and  realm  and 
empire,  and  drew  them  to  herself,  a  giant's  spoil ;  with 
a  form  of  religion  haughty  and  insolent,  that  looked 
down  on  the  divinities  of  Greece  and  Egypt,  of  "  Or- 
mus  and  the  Ind,"  and  gave  them  a  shelter  in  her 
capacious  robe;  Rome,  with  her  practised  skill;  Rome, 
with  her  eloquence ;  Rome,  with  her  pride ;  Rome,  with 
her  arms,  hot  from  the  conquest  of  a  thousand  kings. 
On  the  same  side  were  all  the  institutions  of  all  the 
world;  its  fables,  wealth,  armies,  pride,  its  folly  and 
its  sin. 

On  the  other  hand,  were  a  few  Jewish  fishermen,  un- 
taught, rude,  and  vulgar;  not  free  from  gross  errors; 
despised  at  home,  and  not  known  abroad;  collected 
together  in  the  name  of  an  enthusiastic  young  carpen- 
ter, who  died  on  the  gallows  fancying  himself  the  Mes- 
siah and  that  the  world  would  perish  soon  —  and  whom 
they  declared  to  be  risen  from  the  dead ;  —  men  with  no 
ritual,  no  learning,  no  books,  no  brass  in  their  purse,  no 
philosophy  in  their  mind,  no  eloquence  on  their  tongue. 
A  Roman  sceptic  might  tell  how  soon  these  fanatics 
would  fall  out,  and  destroy  themselves,  after  serving  as 
a  terror  to  the  maids  and  a  sport  to  the  boys  of  a 
Jewish  hamlet,  and  so  that  "  detestable  superstition  " 
come  to  an  end!  A  priest  of  Jerusalem,  with  his 
oracular  gossip,  could  tell  how  long  the  Sanhedrim 
would  suffer  them  to  go  at  large,  in  the  name  of  "  that 
deceiver,"  whose  body  "  they  stole  away  by  night ! " 
Alas  for  what  man  calls  great;  the  pride  of  prejudice; 
the  boast  of  power.  These  fishermen  of  Galilee  have 
a  truth  the  world  has  not,  so  they  are  stronger  than  the 
world.  Ten  weak  men  may  chain  down  a  giant;  but 
no  combination  of  errors  can  make  a  truth  or  put  it 
down;  no  army  of  the  ignorant  equals  one  man  who 


CHRISTIANITY  283 

has  the  word  of  life.  Besides,  all  t!ie  old  truth  in 
Judea,  Greece,  Rome,  was  an  auxiliary  to  favor  the 
new  truth. 

The  first  preachers  of  Christianity  had  false  notions 
on  many  points ;  they  were  full  of  Jewish  fables  and 
technicalities ;  thought  the  world  would  soon  end,  and 
Jesus  come  back  "  with  power  and  great  glory."  Peter 
would  now  and  then  lie  to  serve  his  turn;  Paul  was 
passionate,  often  one-sided,  dogmatic,  and  mistaken; 
Barnabas  and  Mark  could  not  agree.  There  was  some- 
thing of  furious  enthusiasm  in  all  these  come-outers. 
James  thunders  like  a  "  Fanatic  "  or  "  Radical  "  at  the 
rich  man,  not  without  cause;  they  soon  had  divisions 
and  persecutions  among  themselves,  foes  in  the  new 
household  of  Christianity.  But,  spite  of  the  follies  or 
limitations  of  these  earnest  and  manly  Jews,  a  religious 
fire  burned  in  their  hearts ;  the  word  of  God  grew  and 
prevailed.  The  new  doctrine  passes  from  its  low  be- 
ginnings on  the  Galilean  lake,  step  by  step,  through 
Jerusalem,  Ephesus,  Antioch,  Alexandria,  Corinth, 
Rome,  till  it  ascends  the  throne  of  the  world,  and  kings 
and  empires  lie  prostrate  at  its  feet.*  But  alas,  as  it 
spreads  it  is  corrupted  also.  Judaism,  paganism,  idol- 
atry, mingle  their  feculent  scum  with  the  living  stream, 
and  trouble  still  more  and  further  the  water  of  Life. 

Christianity  came  to  the  world  in  the  darkness  of  the 
nations ;  they  had  outgrown  their  old  form,  and  looked 
for  a  new.  They  stood  in  the  shadow  of  darkness, 
fearing  to  go  back,  not  daring  to  look  forward ;  they 
groped  after  God.  The  piety  and  morality  which 
Jesus  taught  and  lived  came  to  the  nations  as  a  beam 
of  light  shot  into  chaos;  a  strain  of  sweet  music, —  so 

*  Parker,  Miscellanies,  Art.  I.  and  XI. 


^84  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

silvery  and  soft  we  know  not  we  are  listening, —  to 
him  who  wanders  on  amid  the  uncertain  gloom,  and 
charms  him  to  the  light,  to  the  river  of  God  and  the 
tree  of  life.  It  was  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  of 
holy  hearts,  human  religion,  human  morality,  and 
above  all  things  revealing  the  greatness  of  man. 

It  is  sometimes  feared  that  Christianity  is  in  danger ; 
that  its  days  are  numbered.*  Of  the  Christianity  of 
the  churches,  no  doubt  it  is  true.  That  child  of  many 
fathers  cannot  die  too  soon.  It  cumbers  the  ground. 
The  errors  which  Jesus  taught  will  also  fall  and  die. 
But  absolute  religion,  absolute  morality,  cannot  perish ; 
never  till  love,  goodness,  devotion,  faith,  reason,  fail 
from  the  heart  of  man ;  never  till  God  melts  away  and 
vanishes,  and  nothing  takes  the  place  of  the  all-in-all. 
Religion  can  no  more  be  separated  from  the  race  than 
thought  and  feeling;  nor  absolute  religion  die  out 
more  than  wisdom  perish  from  among  men.  Man's 
words,  thoughts,  churches,  fail  and  pass  off  like  clouds 
from  the  sky  that  leave  no  track  behind.  But  God's 
word  can  never  change.  It  shines  perennial  like  the 
stars.  Its  testimony  is  in  man's  heart.  None  can  out- 
grow it;  none  destroy.  For  eighteen  hundred  years, 
this  Christianity  of  Chirst  has  been  in  the  world,  to 
warn  and  encourage.  Violence  and  cunning,  allies  of 
sin,  have  opposed.  Every  weapon  learning  could 
snatch  from  the  arsenals  of  the  past,  or  science  devise 
anew,  or  pride,  and  cruelty,  and  wit  invent,  has  been 
used  by  mistaken  men  to  destroy  this  fabric.  Not  a 
stone  has  fallen  from  the  heavenly  arch  of  real  religion ; 

*  See  Comte  and  Leroux,  ubi  sup,  passim,  and  de  Potter, 
Hist.  Philosophique  politique  et  critique  du  Christianisme; 
Bruxelles,  1838,  Vol.  I.  Introd.  §  1. 


CHRISTIANITY  285 

not  a  loophole  been  found  where  a  shot  could  enter. 
But  alas,  vain  doctrines,  follies,  absurdities,  without 
count,  have  been  piled  against  the  tem^ple  of  God, 
marring  its  beauteous  shape.  That  religion  continues 
to  live,  spite  of  the  traditions,  fables,  doctrines  wrapped 
about  it  —  is  proof  enough  of  its  truth.  Reason  never 
warred  against  love  of  God  and  man,  never  with 
the  absolute  religion,  but  always  with  that  of  the 
churches.*  There  is  much  destructive  work  still  to  be 
done,  which  scoffers  will  attempt,  if  wise  rehgious  men 
withhold  the  medicative  hand. 

Can  man  destroy  Absolute  Religion?  He  cannot 
with  all  the  arts  and  armies  of  the  world  destroy  the 
pigment  that  colors  an  emmet's  eye.  He  may  obscure 
the  truth  to  his  own  mind.  But  it  shines  forever  un- 
changed. So  boys  of  a  summer's  day  throw  dust  above 
their  heads,  to  blind  the  sun;  they  only  hide  it  from 
their  blinded  eyes.f 

*  Even  M.  de  Potter  wars  only  against  Christianity  "  hierar- 
chically organized."  "  Jesus  and  his  principles  of  social  equal- 
ity, of  universal  brotherhood,  are  to  him  the  meek,  sublime 
manifestation  of  the  moral  man,'*  ubi  sup..  Vol.  I.  p.  ii. 

t  Parker,  ubi  sup..  Art.  VI.  Of  the  Transient  and  Perma- 
nent in  Christianity.  See  also  Speeches  and  Occasional  Ser- 
mons, Vol.  I.  Art.  i.  ii.  xii.  Sermons  of  Theism,  etc.,  Serm. 
III.-VI. 


BOOK  IV 


287 


"No  man  would  be  so  ridiculous  as  (since  Columbus  dis- 
covered the  new  world  of  America,  as  big  as  the  old,  since  the 
enlarged  knowledge  of  the  North  of  Europe,  the  South  and 
East  of  Asia  and  Africa,  besides  the  new  divisions,  names,  and 
inhabitants  of  the  old  parts),  to  forbid  the  reading  of  any- 
more geography  than  is  found  in  Strabo,  or  Mela;  or,  since 
the  Portuguese  have  sailed  to  the  Indias  by  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  to  admit  of  no  other  Indian  commodities  than  what  are 
brought  on  Camels  to  Aleppo;  or  if  posterity  shall  find  out 
the  North-east  or  North-west  way  to  Cathajo  and  China,  or  shall 
cut  the  Isthmus  between  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean, 
will  it  be  unlawful  to  use  the  advantage  of  such  noble  achieve- 
ments? If  any  man  love  acorns  since  corn  is  invented,  let  him 
eat  acorns;  but  it  is  very  unreasonable  he  should  forbid  others 
the  use  of  wheat.  Whatever  is  solid  in  the  writings  of  Aris- 
totle, these  new  philosophers  will  readily  embrace;  and  they 
that  are  most  accused  for  affecting  the  new,  doubt  not  but 
they  can  give  as  good  an  account  of  the  old  philosophy  as  their 
most  violent  accusers,  and  are  probably  as  much  conversant  in 
Aristotle's  writings,  though  they  do  not  much  value  these  small 
wares  that  are  usually  retailed  by  the  generality  of  his  inter- 
preters." A  brief  Account  of  the  new  sect  of  Latitudemen,  by 
G.  B,    Oxford,  1662,  p.  13,  14. 


S88 


BOOK  IV. 

THE   RELATION   OF   THE  RELIGIOUS   ELE- 
MENT TO  THE  GREATEST  OF  BOOKS, 
OR  A  DISCOURSE  OF  THE  BIBLE 


CHAPTER  I 


POSITION  OF  THE  BIBLE  — CLAIMS  MADE 

FOR  IT  —  STATEMENT  OF  THE 

QUESTION 

View  it  in  what  light  we  may,  the  Bible  is  a  very 
surprising  phenomenon.  In  all  Christian  lands,  this 
collection  of  books  is  separated  from  every  other,  and 
called  sacred;  others  are  profane.  Science  may  differ 
from  them,  not  from  this.  It  is  deemed  a  condescen- 
sion on  the  part  of  its  friends,  to  show  its  agreement 
with  reason.  How  much  has  been  written  by  conde- 
scending theologians  to  show  the  Bible  was  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  demonstrations  of  Newton !  Should  a 
man  attempt  to  reestablish  the  cosmogonies  of  Hesiod 
and  Sanchoniathon,  to  allegorize  the  poems  of  Ana- 
creon  and  Theocritus  as  divines  mystify  the  Scripture, 
it  would  be  said  he  wasted  his  oil,  and  truly.* 

This  collection  of  books  has  taken  such  a  hold  on 
the  world  as  no  other.  The  literature  of  Greece,  which 
goes  up  like  incense  from  that  land  of  temples  and 
heroic  deeds,  has  not  half  the  influence  of  this  Book 

*  See  the  recent  literature  relating  to  a  Plurality  of  Wo^^ds 
for  another  illustration.  ^'  '' 

ni-19  289 


290  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

from  a  nation  alike  despised  in  ancient  and  modem 
times.  It  is  read  of  a  Sunday  in  all  the  thirty  thou- 
sand pulpits  of  our  land.  In  all  the  temples  of  Chris- 
tendom is  its  voice  lifted  up,  week  by  week.  The  sun 
never  sets  on  its  gleaming  page.  It  goes  equally  to  the 
cottage  of  the  plain  man  and  the  palace  of  the  king. 
It  is  woven  into  the  literature  of  the  scholar,  and  colors 
the  talk  of  the  street.  The  bark  of  the  merchant  can- 
not sail  the  sea  without  it;  no  ship  of  war  goes  to  the 
conflict  but  the  Bible  is  there !  It  enters  men's  closets ; 
mingles  in  all  the  grief  and  cheerfulness  of  life.  The 
affianced  maiden  prays  God  in  Scripture  for  strength 
in  her  new  duties;  men  are  married  by  Scripture. 
The  Bible  attends  them  in  their  sickness;  when  the 
fever  of  the  world  is  on  them,  the  aching  head  finds  a 
softer  pillow  if  such  leaves  lie  underneath.  The  mari- 
ner, escaping  from  shipwreck,  clutches  this  first  of  his 
treasures,  and  keeps  it  sacred  to  God.  It  goes  with  the 
peddler,  in  his  crowded  pack;  cheers  him  at  eventide, 
when  he  sits  down  dusty  and  fatigued;  brightens  the 
freshness  of  his  morning  face.  It  blesses  us  when  we 
are  born;  gives  names  to  half  Christendom;  rejoices 
with  us ;  has  sympathy  for  our  mourning ;  tempers  our 
grief  to  finer  issues.  It  is  the  better  part  of  our 
sermons.  It  lifts  man  above  himself;  our  best  of 
uttered  prayers  are  in  its  storied  speech,  wherewith  our 
fathers  and  the  patriarchs  prayed.  The  timid  man, 
about  awaking  from  this  dream  of  life,  looks  through 
the  glass  of  Scripture  and  his  eye  grows  bright;  he 
does  not  fear  to  stand  alone,  to  tread  the  way  un- 
known and  distant,  to  take  the  death-angel  by  the  hand 
and  bid  farewell  to  wife,  and  babes,  and  home.  Men 
re'^t  on  this'  their  dearest  hopes.  It  tells  them  of  God, 
/and  of  his  blessed  Son;  ol^  arthly,  duties  and  of  heav- 


THE  BIBLE  291 

enly  rest.  Foolish  men  find  it  the  source  of  Plato's 
wisdom,  and  the  science  of  Newton,  and  the  art  of 
Raphael ;  wicked  men  use  it  to  rivet  the  fetters  on  the 
slave.  Men  who  believe  nothing  else  that  is  spiritual, 
believe  the  Bible  all  through;  without  this  they  would 
not  confess,  say  they,  even  that  there  was  a  God. 

Now  for  such  effects  there  must  be  an  adequate 
cause.  That  nothing  comes  of  nothing  is  true  all  the 
world  over.  It  is  no  light  thing  to  hold,  with  an  elec- 
tric chain,  a  thousand  hearts  though  but  an  hour, 
beating  and  bounding  with  such  fiery  speed.  What 
is  it  then  to  hold  the  Christian  world,  and  that  for 
centuries.?  Are  men  fed  with  chaff  and  husks.?  The 
authors  we  reckon  great,  whose  word  is  in  the  news- 
paper, and  the  market-place,  whose  articulate  breath 
now  sways  the  nation's  mind,  will  soon  pass  away,  giv- 
ing place  to  other  great  men  of  a  season,  who  in  their 
turn  shall  follow  them  to  eminence,  and  then  oblivion. 
Some  thousand  "  famous  writers "  come  up  in  this 
century,  to  be  forgotten  in  the  next.  But  the  silver 
cord  of  the  Bible  is  not  loosed,  nor  its  golden  bowl 
broken,  as  Time  chronicles  his  tens  of  centuries  passed 
by.  Has  the  human  race  gone  mad.?  Time  sits  as  a 
refiner  of  metal ;  the  dross  is  piled  in  forgotten  heaps, 
but  the  pure  gold  is  reserved  for  use,  passes  into  the 
ages,  and  is  current  a  thousand  years  hence  as  well  as 
to-day.  It  is  only  real  merit  that  can  long  pass  for 
such.  Tinsel  will  rust  in  the  storms  of  life.  False 
weights  are  soon  detected  there.  It  is  only  a  heart 
that  can  speak,  deep  and  true,  to  a  heart ;  a  mind  to  a 
mind;  a  soul  to  a  soul;  wisdom  to  the  wise,  and  re- 
ligion to  the  pious.  There  must  then  be  in  the  Bible, 
mind,  conscience,  heart  and  soul,  wisdom  and  religion. 
Were  it  otherwise,  how  could  millions  find  it  their  law- 


A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

giver,  friend,  and  prophet?  Some  of  the  greatest  of 
human  institutions  seem  built  on  the  Bible ;  such  things 
will  not  stand  on  heaps  of  chaff  but  mountains  of 
rocks. 

What  is  the  secret  cause  of  this  wide  and  deep  in- 
fluence? It  must  be  found  in  the  Bible  itself,  and  must 
be  adequate  to  the  effect.  To  answer  the  question  we 
must  examine  the  Bible,  and  see  whence  it  comes,  what 
it  contains,  and  by  what  authority  it  holds  its  place. 
If  we  look  superficially,  it  is  a  collection  of  books  in 
human  language,  from  different  authors  and  times ;  we 
refer  it  to  a  place  amongst  other  books  and  proceed  to 
examine  it  as  the  works  of  Homer  and  Xenophon. 
But  the  popular  opinion  bids  us  beware,  for  we  tread 
on  holy  ground.  The  opinion  commonly  expressed  by 
the  Protestant  churches  is  this:  The  Bible  is  a  miracu- 
lous collection  of  miraculous  books ;  every  word  it  con- 
tains was  written  by  miraculous  inspiration  from 
God,  which  was  so  full,  complete,  and  infallible,  that 
the  authors  delivered  the  truth  and  nothing  but  the 
truth ;  that  the  Bible  contains  no  false  statement  of 
doctrine  or  fact,  but  sets  forth  all  religious  and  moral 
truth  which  man  needs,  or  which  it  is  possible  for  him 
to. receive  in,  and  no  particle  of  error: — therefore  that 
the  Bible  is  the  only  authoritative  rule  of  religious 
faith  and  practice.*     To  doubt  this  is  reckoned  a  dan- 

*  It  is  scarce  necessary  to  cite  authorities  to  prove  this 
statement,  as  it  is  a  notorious  fact.  But  see  the  most  obvious 
sources,  Westminster  Catechism,  Quest.  2;  Calvin's  Institutes, 
Book  I.  Ch.  VI.-IX.;  Knapp,  ubi  sup.  §  1-13,  especially  Vol.  I. 
p.  130,  et  seq.  See  also  Gaussen's  Theopneusty,  or  the  plenary 
Inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  translated  by  E.  N.  Kirk; 
New  York,  1842.  The  latter  maintains  that  "  all  the  written 
word  is  inspired  of  God  even  to  a  single  iota  or  title,"  p.  333, 
and  passim.     See  Musculus,  Loci  communes;  ed.  1564,  p.   178. 


THE  BIBLE  293 

gerous  error,  if  not  an  unpardonable'  sin.  This  is  the 
supernatural  view.  Some  scholars  slyly  reject  the  di- 
vine authority  of  the  Old  Testament.  Others  reject  it 
openly,  but  cling  strongly  as  ever  to  the  New.  Some 
make  a  distinction  between  the  genuine  and  the  spurious 
books  of  the  New  Testament ;  thus  there  is  a  difference 
in  the  less  or  more  of  an  inspired  and  miraculous  canon. 
The  modern  Unitarians  have  perhaps  reduced  the  scrip- 
ture to  its  lowest  terms.  But  Protestants,  in  general, 
in  America,  agree  that  in  the  whole  or  in  part  the  Bible 
is  an  infallible  and  exclusive  standard  of  religious  and 
moral  truth.  The  Bible  is  master  to  the  soul ;  superior 
to  intellect;  truer  than  conscience;  greater  and  more 
trustworthy  than  the  affections  and  the  soul. 

Accordingly,  with  strict  logical  consistency,  a  pecul- 
iar method  is  used  both  in  the  criticism  and  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Bible;  such  as  men  apply  to  no  other 
ancient  documents.  A  deference  is  paid  to  it  wholly 
independent  of  its  intrinsic  merit.  It  is  presupposed 
that  each  book  within  the  lids  of  the  Bible  has  an 
absolute  right  to  be  there,  and  each  sentence  or  word 
therein  is  infallibly  true.*     Reason  has  nothing  to  do 

But  see  also  Faustus  Socinus,  De  Auctoritate  Sac.  Scrip,  in 
Bibliotheca  Fratrr.  Polon.  Vol.  I.;  Limborch,  Theol.  Lib.  I.; 
Episcopius,  Instit.  P.  IV. 

*  The  writings  of  most  of  the  early  Unitarians  are  exceptions 
to  this  general  rule.  They  attempted  to  separate  the  spurious 
from  the  genuine.  See  earlier  numbers  of  the  Christian  Ex- 
aminer, passim;  Norton,  Statement  of  Reasons,  etc.,  p.  136,  et 
seq.  Evidences  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Gospels,  Vol.  I.  p. 
liii.  et  seq.  See  especially  p.  Ixi.  Vol.  II.  p.  cliv.  clxii.  cxiii.  and 
the  whole  of  the  additional  note  on  the  O.  T.  p.  xlviii.,  et  seq.; 
Internal  Evidences,  etc.  (1855),  p.  13;  and  Translation  of  the 
Gospels  (1855),  Vol.  II.  note  E.  See  also  Stuart,  Critical 
History  and  Defence  of  the  O.  T.  Canon;  Andover,  1845. 
Dr.  Palfrey,  ubi  sup.  denies  the  miraculous  inspiration  of  all 
the  Old  Testament,  except  ike  last  four  books  of  Moses,  and 
there  diminishes  its  intensity. 


£94  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

in  the  premises,  but  accepts  the  written  statement  of 
"  the  Word ;"  the  duty  of  behef  is  just  the  same  whether 
the  Word  contradict  reason  and  conscience,  or  agrees 
with  them.* 

This  opinion  about  the  Bible  is  true,  or  not  true.  If 
true  it  is  capable  of  proof,  at  least  of  being  shown  to  be 
probable.  Now  there  are  but  four  possible  ways  of 
establishing  the  fact,  namely ; — 

1.  By  the  authority  of  churches,  having  either  a 
miraculous  inspiration,  or  a  miraculous  tradition,  to 
prove  the  illegal  infallibility  of  the  Bible.  But  the 
churches  are  not  agreed  on  this  point.  The  Roman 
Church  very  stoutly  denies  the  fact,  and  besides,  the 
Protestants  deny  the  authority  of  the  Roman  Church. 

2.  By  the  direct  testimony  of  God  in  our  conscious- 
ness assuring  us  of  the  miraculous  infallibility  of  the 
Bible.  This  would  be  at  the  best  one  miracle  to  prove 
another,  which  is  not  logical.  The  proof  is  only  sub- 
jective, and  is  as  valuable  to  prove  the  divinity  of  the 
Koran,  the  Shaster,  and  the  book  of  Mormon,  as  that 
of  the  Jewish  and  Christian  scriptures.  It  is  the  argu- 
ment of  the  superstitious  and  enthusiastical. 

S.  By  the  fact  that  the  Bible  claims  this  divine  infal- 
libility. This  is  reasoning  in  a  circle,  though  it  is  the 
method  commonly  relied  on  by  Christians.  It  will 
prove  as  well  the  divinity  of  any  impostor  who  claims 

it.t 

4.  By  an  examination  of  the  contents  of  the  Bible, 
and  the  external  history  of  its  origin.     To  proceed  in 

*  See  Gaussen,  ubi,  sup. ;  Home,  Introduction  to  the  H0I7 
Scriptures;  Philad.  1840,  Vol.  I.  p.  1-187. 

t  See  this  claim  made  in  the  Koran,  Sales's  translation,  Lon- 
don, new  edition,  page  163,  et  seq.  206,  372,  400,  152,  etc.,  219, 
127,  et  al.,  and  the  Book  of  Mormon  (Nauvoo,  1840),  passim. 


THE  BIBLE  295 

this  way,  we  must  ask :  Are  all  its  statements  infallibly, 
true?  But  to  ask  this  question  presupposes  the  stand- 
ard-measure is  in  ourselves,  not  in  the  Bible ;  so  at  the 
utmost  the  Book  can  be  no  more  infallible,  and  have 
no  more  authority  than  reason  and  the  moral  sense  by 
which  we  try  it.  A  single  mistake  condems  its  infal- 
libility, and  of  course  its  divinity.  But  the  case  is  still 
worse.  After  the  truth  of  a  book  is  made  out,  before 
a  work  in  human  language  like  other  books  can  be 
referred  to  God  as  its  author,  one  of  two  things  must 
be  shown:  either  that  its  contents  could  not  have 
come  from  man,  and  then  it  follows  by  implication 
that  they  came  from  God ;  or  that  at  a  certain  time  and 
place,  God  did  miraculously  reveal  the  contents  of  the 
book. 

Now  it  is  a  notorious  fact,  first,  that  it  has  not  been 
and  cannot  be  proved,  that  every  statement  in  the  Bible 
is  true ;  or,  secondly,  that  its  contents,  such  as  they  are, 
could  not  have  proceeded  from  man,  under  the  ordinary 
influence  of  God;  or,  finally,  that  any  one  book  or 
word  of  the  Bible  was  miraculously  revealed  to  man. 
In  the  absence  of  proof  for  any  one  of  these  three 
points,  it  has  been  found  a  more  convenient  way  to 
assume  the  truth  of  them  all,  and  avoid  troublesome 
questions.* 

Laying  aside  all  prejudices,  if  we  look  into  the  Bible 
in  a  general  way,  as  into  other  books,  we  find  facts 
which  force  the  conclusion  upon  us,  that  the  Bible  is  a 
human  work,  as  much  as  the  Principia  of  Newton  or 
Descartes,  or  the  Vedas  and  Koran.  Some  things  are 
beautiful  and  true,  but  others,  no  man,  in  his  reason, 

*  See  some  pertinent  remarks  in  J.  H.  Thorn's  Life  of  Joseph 
Blanco  White;  London,  1845,  Vol.  I.  p.  275,  et  seq.;  Vol.  II.  p. 
18,  et  seq.,  and  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Norton,  p.  250,  et  seq. 
De  Wette,  Wesen,  §  6. 


296  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

can  accept.  Here  are  the  works  of  various  writers, 
from  the  eleventh  century  before  to  the  second  century 
after  Christ,  thrown  capriciously  together,  and  united 
by  no  common  tie  but  the  lids  of  the  bookbinder. 
Here  are  two  forms  of  religion,  which  differ  widely, 
set  forth  and  enforced  by  miracles;  the  one  ritual 
and  formal,  the  other  actual  and  spiritual;  the  one 
the  religion  of  fear,  the  other  of  love;  one  final, 
and  resting  entirely  on  the  special  revelation  made  to 
Moses,  the  other  progressive,  based  on  the  universal 
revelation  of  God,  who  enlightens  all  that  come  into 
the  world ;  one  offers  only  earthly  recompense,  the  other 
makes  immortality  a  motive  to  a  divine  life ;  one  com- 
pels men,  the  other  invites  them.  One  half  the  Bible 
repeals  the  other  half.  The  gospel  annihilates  the 
law;  the  apostles  take  the  place  of  the  prophets,  and 
go  higher  up.  If  Christianity  and  Judaism  be  not  the 
same  thing,  there  must  be  hostility  between  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New  Testament,  for  the  Jewish  form 
claims  to  be  eternal.  To  an  unprejudiced  man  this 
hostility  is  very  obvious.  It  may  indeed  be  said  Chris- 
tianity came  not  to  destroy  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
but  to  fulfil  them,  and  the  answer  is  plain,  their  historic 
fulfilment  was  their  destruction. 

If  we  look  at  the  Bible  as  a  whole,  we  find  numer- 
ous contradictions ;  conflicting  histories  which  no  skill 
can  reconcile  with  themselves  or  with  facts ;  poems 
which  the  Christians  have  agreed  to  take  as  histories, 
but  which  lead  only  to  confusion  on  that  hypothesis; 
prophecies  that  have  never  been  fulfilled,  and  from  the 
nature  of  things  never  can  be.*     We  find  stories  of 

*  It  is  instructive  to  see  that  the  Greeks  sometimes  regarded 
the  writings  of  Homer  with  the  same  superstitious  veneration 
which   is   often   paid   to   the   Bible.    They   found   therein   the 


THE  BIBLE  ^97 

miracles  which  could  not  have  happened;  accounts 
which  represent  the  laws  of  nature  completely  trans- 
formed, as  in  fairy-land,  to  trust  the  tales  of  the  old 
romancers ;  stories  that  make  God  a  man  of  war,  cruel, 
capricious,  revengeful,  hateful,  and  not  to  be  trusted. 
We  find  amatory  songs,  selfish  proverbs,  skeptical  dis- 
courses, and  the  most  awful  imprecations  human  fancy 
ever  clothed  in  speech.  Connected  with  these  are  lofty 
thoughts  of  Nature,  man  and  God:  devotion  touching 
and  beautiful,  and  a  most  reverent  faith.  Here  are 
works  whose  authors  are  known;  others  of  which  the 
author,  age,  and  country  are  alike  forgotten.  Genuine 
and  spurious  works,  religious  and  not  religious  are 
strangely  mixed.  But  the  subject  demands  a  more 
minute  and  detailed  examination  in  each  of  its  main 
parts. 

Neptunian  and  Vulcanian  theory;  the  sphericity  of  the  earth; 
the  doctrines  of  Democritus,  Heraclitus,  and  of  Socrates  and 
Plato  in  ther  turn.  See  Heraclides  Ponticus,  AUeg.  Horn,  in 
Gale,  ubi  sup.  p.  436,  et  seq.,  488,  et  seq.  Pausanias,  IX.  41, 
p.  452,  ed.  Schubert,  seriously  urges  the  question  whether  any 
works  from  the  Shop  of  Vulcan  were  then  in  existence.  Ac- 
cording to  Aristotle  (de  Part.  Animal.  III.  10,  p.  87,  ed.  Bek- 
ker),  some  concluded  in  his  time  that  the  human  head  could 
speak  when  separated  from  the  body  —  and  that  on  the  au- 
thority of  Homer,  "  And  while  he  speaks  his  head  was  mingled 
with  the  dust."  Ilias.  X.  427.  Some  quoted  Homer  to  show 
that  horses  had  spoken  —  as  some  divines  quote  Moses  to  prove 
the  same  of  the  ass. 


CHAPTER  II 

AN  EXAMINATION  OF  THE  CLAIMS  OF  THE 
OLD  TESTAMENT  TO  BE  A  DIVINE,  MIR- 
ACULOUS, OR  INFALLIBLE    COMPOSITION 

It  is  not  possible  to  prove  directly  the  divine  and 
miraculous  character  of  the  Old  Testament  by  showing 
that  God  miraculously  revealed  it  to  the  writers  thereof, 
for  we  do  not  know  who  were  the  writers  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  books ;  and  when  the  authors  are  known,  it 
is  only  by  their  own  testimony,  which  we  have  no  right 
to  assume  to  be  infallible.  We  have  not  the  faintest 
direct  evidence  to  show  there  was  any  thing  miraculous 
in  their  composition.  The  indirect  evidence  may  be 
reduced  to  two  branches : —  first  that  which  shows  that 
all  the  statements  of  the  Old  Testament  are  true,  and 
second  that  which  shows  it  contains  statements  of 
of  the  case,  the  former  proposition  cannot  be  proved, 
since  many  things  treated  of  in  the  Bible  are  known  to 
us  by  that  book  alone.  To  say  they  are  true,  is  to 
assume  the  fact  at  issue.  Besides,  a  true  statement  is 
not  necessarily  miraculous;  if  it  were,  the  multiplica- 
tion table  of  Pythagoras  would  be  a  divine  and  mi- 
raculous composition.  The  latter  proposition  has  also 
its  difficulty.  How  do  we  know  its  statements  are 
above  human  apprehension?  But  suppose  they  are, 
how  do  we  know  they  are  true?  These  difficulties  are 
insuperable.  To  assume  the  divinity  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament is  quite  a&  absurd  as  to  assume  the  same  for  the 
next  book  that  shall  be  printed ;  to  declare  it  miracu- 
lous on  account  of  the  beautiful  piety  in  some  parts  of 

298 


THE  BIBLE  299 

it,  IS  as  foolish  as  to  make  the  same  claim  for  the  ge- 
ometry of  Euclid  and  the  poems  of  Hoper,  on  account 
of  their  great  excellence;  to  admit  this  claim  because 
made  by  some  of  the  Jews,  is  no  more  wise  than  to 
admit  the  claims  of  the  Zoroastrian  records  and  the 
Sibylline  oracles,  and  the  rehgious  books  of  all  nations ; 
then,  among  so  many,  one  is  of  no  value,  for  the 
very  excellence  of  a  miraculous  work  is  thought  to 
consist  in  the  fact  of  its  being  the  only  miraculous 
work. 

To  leave  these  assumptions  and  come  to  facts,  this 
general  thesis  may  be  laid  down,  and  maintained: 
Every  book  of  the  Old  Testament  bears  distinct  marks 
of  its  human  origin ;  some  of  human  folly  and  sin ;  all 
of  human  weakness  and  imperfection.  If  this  thesis  be 
true,  the  Bible  is  not  the  direct  work  of  God;  not  the 
master  of  the  mind  and  conscience,  heart  and  soul 
of  man.  To  prove  this  proposition,  it  is  necessary  to 
go  into  some  details.  The  Hebrews  divided  their 
scriptures  into  the  law,  the  prophets,  and  the  writ- 
ings, to  each  of  which  they  assigned  a  peculiar  degree 
of  inspiration.  The  law  was  infallibly  inspired,  God 
speaking  with  Moses  face  to  face;  the  prophets  less 
perfectly,  God  addressing  them  by  visions  and  dreams ; 
the  writings  still  more  feebly,  God  communicating 
to  their  authors  by  figures  and  enigmas.*  This  an- 
cient division  may  well  enough  be  followed  in  this 
discussion. 

I.     Of  the  Law, 

This  comprises  the  first  five  books  of  the  Bible. 
They  are  commonly  ascribed  to  Moses ;  but  there  is  no 

♦See  Philo,  De  Monarch.  I.  p.  820.  De  Vita  Mosis,  III.  p. 
681,  II.  p.  Q5Qy  at  seq.    Josephus,  Cont  Apion,  I.  8, 


300  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

proof  that  he  wrote  a  word  of  them.  Only  the  Deca- 
logue, in  a  compendious  form,  and  perhaps  a  few  frag- 
ments, can  be  referred  to  him  with  much  probability. 
From  the  use  of  peculiar  words,  from  local  allusions, 
and  other  incidental  signs,  it  is  plain  here  are  frag- 
ments from  several  different  writers,  who  lived  no  one 
knows  when  or  where,  their  names  perfectly  unknown 
to  us.  They  all  bear  marks  of  an  age  much  later  than 
that  of  Moses,  as  any  one  familiar  with  ancient  his- 
tory, and  free  from  prejudice,  may  see  on  examina- 
tion.* 

But  if  they  were  written  by  Moses,  we  are  not,  on 
the  bare  word  of  a  writer,  to  admit  the  miraculous  in- 
fallibility of  his  statements.  Besides,  the  character  of 
the  books  is  such  that  a  very  high  place  is  not  to  be 
assigned  them  among  human  compositions,  measured 
by  the  standard  of  the  present  day.  The  first  chapter 
of  Genesis,  if  taken  as  a  history,  in  the  unavoidable 
sense  of  its  terms,  is  at  variance  with  facts.  It  relates 
that  God  created  the  sun,  moon,  stars,  and  earth,  and 
gave  the  latter  its  planets,  animals,  and  men,  in  six 
days ;  while  science  proves  that  many  thousands,  if  not 
millions  of  years  must  have  passed  between  the  creation 
of  the  first  plants,  and  man,  the  crown  of  creation ;  that 
the  surface  of  the  earth  gradually  received  its  present 
form,  one  race  of  plants  after  the  other  sprang  up,  ani- 
mals succeeded  animals,  the  simpler  first,  then  the  more 
complex,  and  at  last  came  man.  This  chapter  tells  of 
an  ocean  of  water  above  our  heads,  separated  from  us 
by  a  solid  expanse,  in  which  the  greater  and  lesser  lights 
are  fixed;  that  there  was  evening  and  morning,  before 

*  The  proofs  of  this  assertion  cannot  be  adduced  in  a  brief 
discourse  like  the  present;  see  thereon  de  Wette,  Introduction 
to  the  O.  T.  tr.  by  Theo.  Parker,  Vol.  II.  §  138,  et  seq. 


THE  BIBLE  301 

there  was  a  sun  to  cause  the  difference  between  day 
and  night ;  that  the  sun  and  stars  were  created  after  the 
earth,  for  the  earth's  convenience ;  and  that  God  ceased 
his  action,  and  rested  on  the  seventh  day  and  refreshed 
himself.  Here  the  Bible  is  at  variance  with  science, 
which  is  nature  stated  in  exact  language.  Few  men 
will  say  directly  what  the  schoolmen  said  to  Galileo, 
"  If  nature  is  opposed  to  the  Bible  then  nature  is  mis- 
taken, for  the  Bible  is  certainly  right ; "  but  the  popu- 
lar view  of  the  Bible  logically  makes  that  assertion. 
Truth  and  the  book  of  Genesis  cannot  be  reconciled, 
except  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  Bible  means  any 
thing  it  can  be  made  to  mean,*  but  then  it  means 
nothing. 

A  similar  decision  must  be  pronounced  upon  many 
accounts  in  the  Law, —  on  the  creation  of  woman ;  the 
story  of  the  garden,  the  temptation  and  fall  of  man; 
the  appearance  of  God  in  human  shape,  eating  and 
drinking  with  his  favorite,  and  making  covenants ;  the 
story  of  the  flood  and  the  ark ;  the  miraculous  birth  of 

*  See  Augustine,  Confessiones,  Lib,  XII.  C.  18,  et  al.  See 
in  Whewell's  Philosophy  of  the  Inductive  Sciences;  Lond.,  1840, 
Vol.  II.  p.  137,  et  seq.  the  remarkable  chapter  on  "the  Rela- 
tion of  Tradition  to  Palaeontology."  He  thinks  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  Scriptures  ought  to  change  to  suit  the  advance 
of  physical  science;  and  quotes,  approvingly,  the  celebrated 
expression  of  Bellarmine:  "When  a  demonstration  shall  be 
found  to  establish  the  Earth's  motion,  it  will  be  proper  to 
interpret  the  Sacred  Scriptures  otherwise  than  they  have  hitherto 
been  interpreted  in  those  passages  where  mention  is  made  of 
the  stability  of  the  Earth  and  movement  of  the  Heavens.*'  Thus 
he  makes  the  interpretation  of  the  Bible  purely  arbitrary:  you 
can  interpret  into  it,  or  out  of  it,  what  you  will.  If  you  may 
so  deal  with  the  Bible  why  not  with  Homer,  Plato,  Milton,  and 
Hobbes?  In  fact,  the  sound  interpretation  of  the  Bible  is 
no  more  arbitrary  than  that  of  Lyttleton's  Tenures,  and  that 
of  nature  itself. 


302  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Isaac ;  the  promise  to  the  patriarchs ;  the  great  age  of 
mankind ;  the  tower  of  Babel  and  confusion  of  tongues ; 
the  sacrifice  of  Isaac ;  the  history  of  Joseph ;  of  Moses ; 
the  ten  plagues  miraculously  sent;  the  wonderful  pas- 
sage of  the  Red  Sea;  the  support  of  the  Hebrews  in 
the  wilderness  on  manna;  the  miraculous  supply  of 
food,  water,  and  clothing,  and  the  delivery  of  the  Law 
at  Mount  Sinai.*  On  these  it  is  needless  to  dwell. 
But  there  is  one  account  in  the  Law  too  significant  to 
be  passed  over.  It  is  briefly  this.f  As  the  Jews  ap- 
proached the  land  of  Canaan,  Moses  sent  twelve  men, 
"  heads  of  the  children  of  Israel,"  to  examine  the  land, 
and  report  to  the  people.  They  spent  a  long  time  in 
their  tour,  reported  that  the  land  was  fertile,  exhibited 
specimens  of  its  productions,  but  added,  it  was  full  of 
warlike  nations.  The  Jews  were  afraid  to  invade  it; 
"  They  wept  all  night  and  said,  would  God  we  had 
died  in  the  land  of  Egypt."  They  rebelled,  and 
wished  to  choose  a  leader  and  return.  Moses  and 
Aaron,  and  Caleb  and  Joshua  —  two  of  the  twelve 
messengers  —  urge  them  to  battle,  and  say,  "  Jehovah 
is  with  us."  The  people  refuse,  and  would  stone 
them.  Then  the  glory  of  Jehovah  appeared  before 
the  face  of  the  people,  and  God  says  to  Moses,  "  How 
long  will  this  people  provoke  me?  .  .  .  I  will 
smite  them  with  the  pestilence  and  disinherit  them,  and 
make  of  thee  a  greater  nation  and  mightier  than  they." 
But  Moses,  more  merciful  than  his  God,  attempts  to 
appease  the  Deity,  and  that  by  an  appeal  to  his  vanity ; 
"And  Moses  said  unto  Jehovah,  then  the  Egyptians 

*See  Geddes,  Critical  Remarks  on  the  Hebrew  Scriptures; 
Lond.,  1800;  Holy  Bible,  etc.,  etc.  See  some  valuable  remarks 
in  Palfrey,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  p.  133.     Norton,  Vol.  II.  Note  D. 

t  Numbers,  XIV. 


THE  BIBLE  303 

shall  hear  of  it,  and  they  will  tell  it  to  the  inhabitants 
of  this  land.  .  .  .  Now  if  thou  slialt  kill  all  this 
people  as  one  man,  then  the  nations  will  speak,  saying, 
because  Jehovah  was  not  able  to  bring  this  people  into 
the  land  he  sware  unto  them,  therefore  he  hath  slain 
them."  Then  he  proceeds  to  soothe  his  Deity ;  "  Par- 
don the  iniquity  of  this  people ; "  "  Jehovah  is  long- 
suffering  and  of  great  mercy,  forgiving  iniquity  and 
transgression,  but  by  no  means  clearing  the  guilty." 
Jehovah  consents,  but  adds,  "  As  truly  as  I  live  all  the 
earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  Jehovah,"  but 
"  because  all  these  men  .  .  .  have  tempted  me 
now  the  ten  times,  .  .  .  surely  they  shall  not 
see  the  land  which  I  sware  unto  their  fathers,  .  .  . 
your  carcasses  shall  fall  in  this  wilderness,  .  .  . 
in  this  wilderness  they  shall  be  consumed,  and  there 
they  shall  die." 

If  an  unprejudiced  Christian  were  to  read  this  for 
the  first  time  in  a  heathen  writer,  and  it  was  related  of 
Kronos  or  Moloch,  he  would  say,  what  foul  ideas  those 
heathens  had  of  God ;  thank  Heaven  we  are  Christians, 
and  cannot  believe  in  a  deity  so  terrible.  It  is  true 
there  are  now  pious  men,  who  believe  the  story  to  the 
letter,  profess  to  find  comfort  therein,  and  count  it  part 
of  their  Christianity  to  believe  it.  But  is  God  angry 
with  men ;  passionate,  revengeful ;  offended  because  they 
will  not  war,  and  butcher  the  innocent.?  Would  he  vio- 
late his  perfect  law  and  by  a  miracle  destroy  a  whole 
nation,  millions  of  men,  women  and  children,  because 
they  fall  into  a  natural  fit  of  despair,  and  refuse  to 
trust  ten  witnesses  rather  than  two  witnesses?  Does 
God  require  man's  words  to  restrain  his  rage,  violence, 
and  a  degree  of  fury  which  Nero  and  Caracalla,  butch- 
ers of  men  though  they  were,  would  have  shuddered  to 


304         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

think  of?  Is  he  to  be  teased  and  coaxed  from  murder? 
Are  we  called  on  to  believe  this  in  the  name  of  Chris- 
tianity? Then  perish  Christianity  from  the  face  of 
earth,  and  let  man  learn  of  his  religion  and  his  God 
from  the  stars  and  the  violet,  the  lion  and  the  lamb. 
View  this  as  the  savage  story  of  some  oriental  who  at- 
tributed a  bloodthirsty  character  to  his  God,  and  made 
a  deity  in  his  own  image,  and  it  is  a  striking  remnant 
of  barbarism  that  has  passed  away,  not  destitute  of 
dramatic  interest;  not  without  its  melancholy  moral. 
There  are  some  things  which  may  be  true,  but  must  be 
rejected  for  lack  of  evidence  to  prove  them  true;  but 
this  story  no  amount  of  evidence  could  make  credible. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  the  law,  fact  and  fiction, 
history  and  mythology,  are  so  intimately  blended,  that 
it  seems  impossible  to  tell  where  one  begins  and  the 
other  ends.  The  laws  are  not  perfect;  they  contain  a 
mingling  of  good  and  bad,  wise  and  absurd,  and  if  men 
will  maintain  that  God  is  their  author,  we  must  still 
apply  to  them  the  words  which  Ezekiel  puts  in  his 
mouth  :*  "  I  gave  them  statutes  that  were  not  good, 
and  judgments  whereby  they  should  not  live;  "  or  say 
with  Jeremiah,  "  I  spake  not  unto  your  fathers  in  the 
day  that  I  brought  them  up  out  of  Egypt,  concerning 
burnt-offerings,  or  sacrifices." 

II.  Of  the  Prophets. 

The  Hebrews  divide  the  prophets  into  the  earlier 
and  the  later:  the  first  including  the  four  historical 
works  of  Joshua,  Judges,  Samuel,  and  the  Kings ;  the 
second,  the  prophets  properly  so  called,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Daniel,  the  three  major,  the  twelve  minor 
prophets. 

♦Ezekiel,  Ch.  XX.  25,  Jer.  VII..  22, 


THE  BIBLE  SOS 

1.  Of  the  Early  Prophets, 
No  one  knows  the  date  or  the  author  of  any  one  of 
those  books ;  they  all  contain  historical  matter  of  doubt- 
ful character,  such  as  the  miraculous  passage  of  the 
Jordan;  the  destruction  of  Jericho;  the  standing  still 
of  the  sun  and  moon  at  the  command  of  Joshua;  the 
story  of  Samson;  the  destruction  of  the  Benjamites; 
the  birth  and  calling  of  Samuel ;  the  wonders  wrought 
by  the  Ark ;  the  story  of  Saul,  David,  and  Goliath,  the 
miraculous  pestilence,  of  Solomon,  Elijah,  Elisha,  and 
others.  Of  all  these,  perhaps  the  story  of  Samson  is 
the  most  strikingly  absurd, —  a  man  of  miraculous 
birth  and  miraculous  strength,  whose  ability  lay  in  his 
long  hair  and  which  went  from  him  when  his  locks 
were  shorn  off.  When  we  read  in  Hesiod  and  else- 
where, the  birth  and  exploits  of  Hercules, —  who  bears 
a  resemblance  to  Samson  in  some  respects,  though 
vastly  his  superior  on  the  whole  —  we  refer  the  tale  to 
human  fancy  in  a  low  stage  of  civilization;  a  mind 
free  from  prejudice  will  do  the  same  with  the  story  of 
Samson,*  No  one  can  reasonably  contend  that  it  re- 
quires a  mind  miraculously  enlightened  to  produce  such 
books  as  these  of  the  early  prophets.  They  belong 
to  the  fabulous  period  of  Jewish  history.  Mythology, 
poetry,  fact,  and  fiction,  are  strangely  woven  together. 
The  authors,  whoever  they  were,  claim  no  inspiration. 
However,  as  a  general  rule,  they  contain  less  to  offend 
a  religious  mind  than  the  books  of  the  law. 

2.  The  Prophets,  properly  so  called. 
It  may  be  said  of  these  writings,  in  general,  that 
they  contain  nothing  above  the  reach  of  human  facul- 

♦  See  Palfrey,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  p.  194,  et  seq.,  and  on  these 
books  in  general,  p.  134-300.  Home,  ubi  sup.  VoL  II.  p.  216, 
et  seq. 

Ill— 20 


306  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

ties.  Here  are  noble  and  spirit-stirring  appeals  to 
men's  conscience,  patriotism,  honor  and  religion;  beau- 
tiful poetic  descriptions,  odes,  hymns,  expressions  of 
faith,  almost  beyond  praise.  But  the  mark  of  human 
infirmity  is  on  them  all,  and  proofs  or  signs  of  mirac- 
ulous inspiration  are  not  found  in  them.  In  the  minor 
prophets,  there  is  nothing  worthy  of  special  notice  in 
this  place,  unless  it  be  the  story  of  Jonah,  which  is 
unique  in  the  ancient  Hebrew  literature,  and  tells  its 
own  tale.*  These  books  do  not  require  a  detailed  ex- 
amination, f  The  greater  prophets,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
and  Ezekiel,  are  more  important,  and  require  a  more 
minute  notice.  In  these,  as  well  as  in  other  propheti- 
cal books,  and  the  Law,  claim  is  apparently  made  to  mi- 
raculous inspiration.  "  Thus  saith  Jehovah,"  is  the 
authority  to  which  the  prophet  appeals,  "  Jehovah 
said  unto  me,"  "  The  command  of  Jehovah  came  unto 
me,"  "  I  saw  in  a  vision,"  "  The  spirit  of  Jehovah  came 
upon  me."  These  and  similar  expressions  occur  often 
in  the  prophets.  But  do  these  phrases  denote  a  claim 
to  miraculous  inspiration  as  we  understand  it.?  We 
limit  miraculous  inspiration  to  a  few  cases,  where  some- 
thing is  to  be  done  above  human  ability.  Not  so  the 
Hebrews;  they  did  not  make  a  sharp  distinction  be- 
tween the  miraculous  and  the  common.  All  religious 
and  moral  power  was  regarded  as  the  direct  gift  of 
God ;  an  outpouring  of  his  spirit.     God  teaches  David 

*Pausanias  says  he  saw  dolphin  carry  a  boy  on  his  back 
as  a  recompense  for  being  healed  of  a  wound  by  the  boy !  Lib. 
III.  C.  25,  p.  573.  A  man  who  should  believe  such  a  story  on 
such  evidence  would  be  thought  not  a  little  credulous  by  the 
men  who  declare  it  dangerous  to  doubt  the  stories  in  Jonah  and 
Daniel.  See  too  Pausanias,  Lib.  I.  C.  44,  8  8,  and  X.  C.  13, 
§  10. 

t  For  this,  see  De  Wette,  Introd.  Vol.  II.,  and  Palfrey,  ubi 
sup.  Vol.  II.  p.  362,  et  seq. 


THE  BIBLE  307 

to  fight;  commands  Gideon  to  select  his  soldiers,  to 
arise  in  the  night  and  attack  the  foe.  The  Lord  set 
his  enemies  to  fight  amongst  themselves.  He  teaches 
Bezaleel  and  Aholiab.  They,  and  all  the  ingenious 
mechanics,  are  filled  with  "  the  spirit  of  God."  The 
same  "  spirit  of  the  Lord "  enables  Samson  to  kill 
a  lion  and  many  men.  These  instances  show  with 
what  latitude  the  phrase  is  used,  and  how  loose  were 
the  notions  of  inspiration.*  The  Greeks  also  referred 
their  works  to  the  aid  of  Phoebus,  Pallas,  Vulcan,  or 
Olympian  Jove,  in  the  same  way. 

It  has  never  been  rendered  probable  that  the  phrase. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord,  and  its  kindred  terms,  were  under- 
stood by  the  prophets  or  their  hearers  to  denote  any 
miraculous  agency  in  the  case.  They  employ  language 
with  the  greatest  freedom.  Thus  a  writer  says,  "  I 
saw  Jehovah  sitting  upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up, 
and  his  train  filled  the  temple ;  above  it  stood  the  sera- 
phim." No  thinking  man  would  suppose  the  prophet 
designed  to  assert  a  fact,  or  that  his  countrymen  un- 
derstood him  to  do  so.  Certainly  it  is  insulting  to  sup- 
pose a  philosophic  man  would  believe  God  sat  on  a 
throne,  with  a  troop  of  courtiers  around  him,  like  a 
Persian  king.  When  a  prophet  says  Jehovah  appeared 
to  him  in  a  dream,  he  can  only  mean,  either  he  dreamed 
Jehovah  appeared,  which  is  somewhat  different,  or  that 
he  chose  this  symbolic  way  of  stating  his  opinion. 
Thus  a  Grecian  prophet  might  say,  "  The  muse  came 
down  from  high  Olympus'  shaggy  top,  and  whispered 
unto  me,  her  favorite  son."  f     Not  stating  a  fact,  he 

*  See  Glassius,  Philologia  sacra  ed.  Dathe,  Vol.  II.  p.  815,  et 
seq.     Bauer,  Theologie  des  A.  T.  §  51-54,  et  al. 

tSee  Cicero,  De  Nat.  Deorum,  Lib.  I.  ch.  I.  and  II.  Ovid, 
Metamorph.  Lib.  II.  640,  et  seq. 


308  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

would  give  an  outness  to  what  passed  in  his  mind. 
However,  if  these  writers  claimed  miraculous  inspira- 
tion ever  so  strongly,  we  are  not  to  grant  it  unless  they 
abide  the  test  mentioned  above. 

If  they  utter  predictions  —  which  they  rarely  at- 
tempt—  we  are  not  to  assume  their  fulfilment,  and 
then  conclude  the  prophet  was  miraculously  inspired, 
common  as  the  method  is.  But  what  is  the  value  of 
the  claim  made  for  them?  Has  any  one  of  them  ever 
uttered  a  distinct,  definite,  and  unambiguous  prediction 
of  any  future  event  that  has  since  taken  place,  which 
a  man  without  a  miracle  could  not  equally  well  predict? 
It  has  never  been  shown.  Most  of  the  prophetic 
writings  relate  to  the  past  and  the  present;  to  the 
political,  civil,  and  moral  condition  of  the  people,  at  the 
time ;  they  exhort  backsliding  Israel  to  forsake  his  idols, 
return  to  Jehovah,  live  wisely  and  well.  They  state 
the  result  of  obedience  or  of  disobeying,  for  individuals 
and  the  nation.  It  is  rare  they  predict  distinctly  and 
definitely  any  specific  event;  sometimes  they  foretell, 
in  the  most  general  terms,  good  or  ill  fortune,  the  de- 
struction of  a  city,  the  defeat  of  an  army,  the  down- 
fall of  a  king.  But  in  case  the  prediction  came  to 
pass,  who  shall  tell  us,  at  this  distance  of  time,  that  it 
was  not  either  a  lucky  hit,  or  the  result  of  sagacious 
insight?  Certainly  the  supposition  is  against  a  mira- 
cle. The  Tripod  of  Delphi  delivered  some  oracles 
that  were  extraordinarily  felicitous;  Seneca  made  a 
very  clear  prediction  of  the  discovery  of  America,  and 
Lactantius  of  the  rise  and  downfall  of  Napoleon,  and 
Lotichius  of  the  capture  of  Magdeburg.  Does  the 
fulfilment  prove  the  miraculous  inspiration  of  the  ora- 
cle in  these  cases?* 

•  See  De  Wette,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  §  201,  et  seq. 


THE  BIBLE  309 

But  to  recur  to  the  other  test,  there  are  statements 
in  the  prophets  which  are  not  true ;  predictions  that  did 
not  come  to  pass.  Under  this  rubric  may  be  placed 
three  of  the  most  celebrated  oracles  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

1.  Jeremiah^s  Prediction  of  the  Seventy  Years  of 
Exile, 

It  was  an  easy  thing  in  Jeremiah's  position  to  see 
that  the  little  nation  of  Judea  could  not  hold  out 
against  the  Babylonian  forces,  and  therefore  must  ex- 
perience the  common  fate  of  nations  they  conquered, 
and  be  carried  into  exile.*  But  would  the  Lord  for- 
sake his  people;  the  seed  of  Abraham?  A  pious  Jew 
could  not  believe  it.  It  was  unavoidable,  with  the 
common  opinion  of  his  countrymen,  that  he  should  ex- 
pect their  subsequent  restoration.  But  why  predict  an 
exile  of  just  seventy  years,  unless  miraculously  di- 
rected? f  He  may  have  used  that  term  for  an  indefi- 
nite period;  a  common  practice.  In  that  case  there  is 
no  miracle.  But  on  the  other  hand,  if  he  predicted 
an  exile  of  just  seventy  years,  the  oracle  was  a  failure. 
The  people  were  not  carried  into  captivity  all  at  once. 
From  which  of  the  two  or  three  times  of  deportation 
shall  we  set  out?  The  books  of  Kings  and  Chronicles 
differ  somewhat.J  But  to  take  the  chronology  of  Jer- 
emiah himself,  if  the  passage  be  genuine ;  §  the  deport- 
ation began  in  the  seventh  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 

*0n  this  custom  of  the  Chaldees,  see  Heeren,  Ideen,  Vol.  I. 
Gesenius  On  Isa.  XXXVI.  16. 

t  Jer.  XXV. 

t  See  2  Kings,  XXIV.  XXV.  2  Chron.  XXXVI. 

§Jer.  LII.  28-30;  but  see  verses  4-15.  See  the  forced  com- 
binations in  Jahn's  Hebrew  Commonwealth,  ch.  V.  §  43. 


310  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

699  before  Christ;  it  was  continued  in  the  year  588, 
and  concluded  in  583.  The  exile  ended  in  the  year 
636.  The  longest  period  that  can  be  made  out  extends 
to  but  sixty-three,  and  the  shortest  to  but  forty-seven 
years.  To  make  out  the  seventy  years  we  must  date 
arbitrarily  from  the  year  606. 

2.  EzekieVs  Oracle  against  Tyre. 

This  prophet  predicts  that  Nebuchadnezzar  shall 
destroy  Tyre.*  The  prediction  is  clear  and  distinct; 
the  destruction  is  to  be  complete  and  total.  "With 
the  hoofs  of  his  horses  shall  he  tread  down  all  thy 
streets ;  he  shall  slay  thy  people  by  the  sword,  and  thy 
strong  garrison  shall  go  down  to  the  ground.  .  .  • 
I  will  make  thee  like  the  top  of  a  rock ;  thou  shalt  be 
to  spread  nets  upon;  thou  shalt  be  built  up  no  more." 
But  it  was  not  so.  Nebuchadnezzar  was  obliged  to 
raise  the  siege  after  investing  the  city  for  thirteen 
years,  and  go  and  fight  the  Egyptians.  Then  sixteen 
years  after  the  first  oracle,  Ezekiel  takes  back  his  own 
words :  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me  saying, 
son  of  man,  Nebuchadnezzar  .  .  ,  caused  his 
army  to  serve  a  great  service  against  Tyrus;  every 
head  was  made  bald,"  with  the  chafing  of  the  helmet, 
"  every  shoulder  was  peeled,"  with  the  pressure  of  bur- 
dens ;  "  yet  he  had  no  wages,  nor  his  army  from  Tyrus. 
.  .  .  Therefore,  behold,  I  will  give  the  land  of 
Egypt  unto  Nebuchadnezzar."  f 

These  things  speak  for  themselves,   and   show   the 
nature  of  the   prophetic   discourses;   that   they   were 

♦  Ezekiel  XXVI.  1,  et  seq. 

tXXIX.  17,  et  seq.  See  Isaiah,  XXIII.  and  Gesenius's  re- 
marks, in  his  Commentar.  Vol.  I.  p.  711,  et  seq.  RosenmuUer, 
Alterth.  Vol.  II.  Pt.  I.  p.  34. 


THE  BIBLE  311 

moral  addresses,  or  poetical  odes.  Ezekiel's  celebrated 
prediction  of  an  impossible  city,*  is  a  standing  monu- 
ment of  the  prophetic  character,  and  of  the  lasting 
folly  of  interpreters.  It  were  easy  to  collect  other 
instances  of  palpable  mistake,  f 

3.  The  alleged  Predictions  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah, 

The  Messianic  prophecies  are  the  most  famous  of 
all.  It  is  commonly  pretended  that  there  are  in  the 
Old  Testament  clear  and  distinct  predictions  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  But  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  it  has  never 
been  shown  that  there  is,  in  the  whole  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, one  single  sentence  that  in  the  plain  and  nat- 
ural sense  of  the  words  foretells  the  birth,  life,  or  death 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  If  the  Scripture  have  seventy- 
two  senses,  as  one  of  the  Rabbins  declares,  or  if  it  fore- 
tells whatever  comes  to  pass,  as  Augustine  has  said, 
and  means  all  it  can  be  made  to  mean,  as  many  mod- 
erns seem  to  think,  why  predictions  and  types  of  Jesus 
may  be  found  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  in  Noah 
and  Abraham  and  Samson,  as  well  as  in  Virgil's 
fourth  Eclogue,  the  Odes  of  Horace,  and  the  story  of 
the  Trihemerine  Hercules. 

The  Messianic  expectations  and  prophecies  seem  to 
have  originated  in  this  way:  After  the  happy  and 
successful  period  of  David  and  Solomon,  the  kingdom 
was  divided  into  Judah  and  Israel,  the  two  tribes  and 
the  ten,  the  national  prosperity  declined.     Pious  men 

*  Ch.  XL.-XLVIII. 

t  On  the  Prophecies  in  general,  see  the  Essay  of  Prof.  Stuart, 
in  Bib.  Rep.  Vol.  II.  p.  217,  et  seq.;  of  Hengstenberg,  ibid.  p. 
139,  et  seq.  Noyes  in  Christian  Examiner,  Vol.  XVI.  p.  321, 
et  seq.  See  also  the  able  essay  of  Knobel,  Prophetismus  der 
Hebjfl£r,  Vol.  I.  Einleit. 


312  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

hoped  for  better  times ;  they  naturally  connected  these 
hopes  with  a  personal  deliverer ;  a  descendant  of  David, 
their  most  popular  king.  The  deliverer  would  unite 
the  two  kingdoms  under  the  old  form.  A  poetic  fancy 
endowed  him  with  wonderful  powers;  made  him  a 
model  of  goodness.  Different  poets  arrayed  their  ex- 
pected hero  in  imaginary  drapery  to  suit  their  own  con- 
ceptions. Malachi  gives  him  a  forerunner.  The  Jews 
were  the  devoutest  of  nations;  the  popular  deliverer 
must  be  a  religious  man.  They  were  full  of  pious 
faith ;  so  the  darker  the  present,  the  brighter  shone  the 
Pharos  of  Hope  in  the  future.  Sometimes  this  de- 
liverer was  called  the  Messiah ;  this  term  is  not  common 
in  the  Old  Testament,  however,  but  is  sometimes  ap- 
plied to  Cyrus  by  the  Pseudo-Isaiah.* 

These  hopes  and  predictions  of  a  deliverer  involved 
several  important  things:  A  reunion  of  the  divided 
tribes ;  a  return  of  the  exiles ;  the  triumph  and  exten- 
sion of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  its  external  duration 
and  perfect  happiness ;  idolatry  was  to  be  rooted  out ; 
the  nations  improved  in  morals  and  religion;  truth 
and  righteousness  were  to  reign;  Jehovah  to  be  recon- 
ciled with  his  people;  all  of  them  were  to  be  taught 
of  God;  other  nations  were  to  come  up  to  Jerusalem, 
and  be  blesesd.  But  the  Mosaic  Law  was  to  be  eternal ; 
the  old  ritual  to  last  forever ;  Jerusalem  to  be  the  cap- 
ital of  the  Messianic  kingdom,  and  the  Jewish  nation 
to  be  reestablished  in  greater  pomp  than  in  the  times 
of  David.  Are  these  predictions  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth? 
He  was  not  the  Messiah  of  Jewish  expectation  and  of 

•Many  chapters  of  Isaiah  have  been  shown  to  be  spurious. 
The  passages,  Chapters  XLI.-LXVI.;  XIII.  XIV.:  XXIII- 
XXVII.;  XXXIV.  XXXV.,  are  of  this  character. 


THE  BIBLE  313 

the  prophets' foretelling.  The  furthest  from  it  possi- 
ble. The  predictions  demanded  a  political  and  visible 
kingdom  in  Palestine,  with  Jerusalem  for  its  capital, 
and  its  ritual  the  old  law.  The  kingdom  of  Jesus  is 
not  of  this  world.  The  ten  tribes  —  have  they  come 
back  to  the  home  of  their  fathers.'*  They  have  per- 
ished and  are  swallowed  up  in  the  tide  of  the  nations, 
no  one  knowing  the  place  of  their  burial.  The  king- 
dom of  the  two  tribes  soon  went  to  the  ground.  These 
are  notorious  facts.  The  Jews  are  right  when  they 
say,  their  predicted  Messiah  has  not  come.  Does  the 
Old  Testament  foretell  a  suffering  Saviour,  his  king- 
dom not  of  this  world ;  crucified ;  raised  from  the  dead  ? 
The  idea  is  foreign  to  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Well 
might  a  Jew  ask,  "  Wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  the 
kingdom  to  Israel?"  To  trust  the  uncertain  record 
of  the  New  Testament,  Jesus  was  slow  to  accept  the 
name  of  the  Messiah ;  he  knew  the  "  people  would  take 
him  by  force  and  make  him  a  king."  But  what  means 
the  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem.'^  He  forbids  his 
disciples  to  speak  of  his  Messiahship :  "  See  that  thou 
teU  no  man  of  it ;  "  lets  John  draw  his  own  inference, 
whether  or  not  he  must  "  look  for  another ; "  thinks 
Simon  Peter  could  only  find  it  out  by  inspiration. 
Was  it  that  he  knew  he  was  not  the  Messiah  of  the 
prophets,  and  so  never  formally  assumed  the  title ;  but 
knowing  that  he  was  a  true  deliverer,  far  greater  than 
their  impossible  Messiah,  first  suffered  the  name 
to  be  affixed  to  him,  and  then  made  the  most  of  the 
popular  idea?  Or,  was  he  himself  mistaken?  It  con- 
cerns us  little ;  but  this  remains,  that  he  was  much  more 
than  the  Jews  looked  for.  The  Jewish  Christians  mis- 
took the  matter;  Paul  would  prove  that  he  was  the 
Messiah  of  the  prophets.     Mistakes  in  theology,  like 


314  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

bits  of  glass  in  a  kaleidoscope,  are  repeated  again  and 
again,  in  fantastic  combinations.* 

III.  The  Writings. 

Under  this  head  are  comprised  the  remaining  books 
of  the  Old  Testament.  Here  is  the  dramatic  poem  of 
Job,  a  work  of  surprising  beauty,  and  full  of  truth. 
But  its  author  denies  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and 
though  he  attempts  "  to  justify  the  ways  of  God  to 
man,"  he  yet  leaves  the  question  as  undecided  as  he 
found  it. 

In  the  Psalms  we  have  beautiful  prayers,  mixed  up 
with  their  local  occasions ;  penitential  hymns,  songs  of 
praise,  expressions  of  hope,  faith,  trust  in  God,  that 
have  never  been  surpassed.  The  devotion  of  some  of 
these  sweet  lyrics  is  beyond  praise.  But  at  the  same 
time  here  are  the  most  awful  denunciations  that  speech 
ever  spoke.  In  the  following  passage  the  writer  de- 
nounces his  enemies. f  "  Set  thou  a  wicked  ,man  over 
him.  Let  Satan  stand  at  his  right  hand ;  when  he  shall 
be  judged,  let  him  be  condemned,  and  let  his  prayer 
become  sin.  Let  his  days  be  few;  let  another  take 
his  office.  Let  his  children  be  fatherless,  and  his  wife 
a  widow.  Let  his  children  be  continually  vagabonds 
and  beg.  .  .  .  Let  there  be  none  to  extend  mercy 
unto  him,  neither  let  there  be  any  to  favor  his  father- 
less children."     These  are  the  words  of  a  man  angry 

•  See  De  Wette,  Dogmatik,  §  137-142.  Opuscula,  I.  p.  23-31 ; 
the  numerous  Christologies  of  modern  times,  and  the  introduc- 
tions to  the  Old  Testament.  See  also  Strauss,  Life  of  Jesus, 
§  60-68.  Hennell,  ubi  sup.  Chap.  I.  II.  and  XII.  XIII.; 
Bretschneider,  Dogmatik,  §  30,  34  (p.  356,  et  seq.),  §  137  (p. 
166,  et  seq.).  Hahn,  Knapp,  Hase,  Wegscheider,  etc.,  and 
Hengstenberg's  Christology. 

t  Ps.  CIX.  6,  et  seq.    See  also  Ps.  CXXXVII. 


THE  BIBLE  315 

and  revengeful.  The  Psalms  abound  with  similar  im- 
precations. To  maintain  they  came  directly  from  the 
God  of  love  is  to  forget  reason,  conscience,  and  re- 
ligion, which  teach  us  to  love  our  enemies,  to  pray  for 
them  that  persecute  us. 

The  book  of  Prbverbs  and  the  Song  of  Songs  speak 
for  themselves,  and  neither  need  nor  claim  any  more 
inspiration  than  other  collections  of  proverbs  or  ori- 
ental amatory  idyls.  The  latter  belongs  to  the  same 
class  with  the  writings  of  Anacreon.  The  somewhat 
doubtful  book  of  Ecclesiastes  seems  to  be  the  work  of 
a  sceptic.  He  denies  the  immortality  of  the  soul  with 
great  clearness ;  thinks  wisdom  and  folly  are  alike  van- 
ity. Though  he  concludes  most  touchingly  in  praise 
of  virtue  on  the  whole,  and  declares  the  fear  of  God, 
and  keeping  his  commandments  is  the  whole  duty  of 
man,  yet  this  conclusion  is  vitiated  by  the  former  pre- 
cept, "  Be  not  righteous  overmuch."  The  Lamenta- 
tions of  Jeremiah  have  as  little  claim  to  inspiration.* 

The  historical  books  of  this  division  present  some 
peculiarities.  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  are  valuable  histo- 
rical documents,  though  implicit  faith  is  by  no  means 
to  be  placed  in  them.  The  book  of  Esther  is  entirely 
devoid  of  religious  interest,  and  seems  to  be  a  romance 
designed  to  show  that  the  Jews  will  always  be  provided 
for.  The  brief  book  of  Ruth  may  be  an  historical  or 
a  fictitious  work.  * 

The  book  of  Daniel  is  a  perfect  unique  in  the  Old 
Testament.  It  professes  to  have  been  written  by  a 
captive  Jew,  at  Babylon,  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 

*  See  Leclerc's  Five  Letters  concerning  the  Inspiration,  etc. ; 
London,  1690,  and  on  the  other  hand,  William  Lowth's  Vindi- 
cation of  the  Divine  Authority,  etc.;  Lond.,  1699,  and  Gaussen, 
Home,  and  Stuart,  ubi  sup. 


316         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

century  before  Christ;  it  contains  accounts  of  surpris- 
ing miracles,  dreams,  visions,  men  cast  into  a  den  of 
lions  and  a  furnace  of  fire,  yet  escaping  unhurt ;  a  man 
transformed  to  a  beast  and  eating  grass  like  an  ox 
for  some  years,  and  then  restored  to  human  shape;  a 
miraculous  and  spectral  hand  writing  on  the  palace 
wall ;  grotesque  fancies  that  remind  us  of  the  Arabian 
Nights,  and  the  Talmud.*  To  judge  from  internal 
evidence,  it  was  written  in  the  first  part  of  the  second 
century,  perhaps  about  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
years  before  Christ,  in  the  time  of  Antiochus  Epiph- 
anes.  The  author  seems  to  have  a  political  and  moral 
end  in  view,  and  to  write  for  the  encouragement  of  his 
countrymen,  perhaps  designing  his  work  should  pass 
for  what  it  is,  a  politico-religious  romance. f 

All  of  these  books  hitherto  mentioned  seem  written 
by  earnest  men,  with  no  intention  to  deceive.  Their 
manly  honesty  is  everywhere  apparent.  But  the  book 
of  Chronicles  is  of  a  very  different  character.  Here  is 
an  obvious  attempt  on  the  writer's  part  to  exalt  the 
character  of  orthodox  kings,  and  depress  that  of  hereti- 
cal kings ;  to  bring  forward  the  Priests  and  the  Levites, 
and  give  everything  a  ceremonial  appearance.  This 
design  will  be  obvious  to  any  one  who  reads  the  stories 
in  Chronicles,  and  then  turns  to  the  parallel  passages 
in  Samuel  and  Kings.$  To  take  but  a  single  instance : 
the  writer  of  the  book  of  Samuel  gfves  an  account  of 
David;  tells  of  his  good  and  evil  qualities;  does  not 
pass  over  his  cruelty,  nor  extenuate  his  sin.     But  in 

*  See  De  Wette,  Vol.  II.  §  257,  p.  505,  note  a,  and  Pliny, 
VIII.  34. 

t  See  De  Wette,  Vol.  II.  §  253,  et  seq. 

JThe  passages  are  conveniently  arranged  for  this  purpose, 
side  by  side,  in  Jahn's  edition  of  the  Hebrew  Bible.  De  Wette, 
§  189,  et  seq. 


THE  BIBLE  317 

Chronicles  there  is  not  a  word  of  this :  nothing  of  the 
crime  of  imperial  adultery ;  nothing  of  Nathan's  rous- 
ing apologue,  and  Thou-art-the-man.  The  thing 
speaks  for  itself. 

Now  if  these  books  have  any  divine  authority,  what 
shall  we  do  with  such  contradictions;  deny  the  fact? 
We  live  too  long  after  Dr.  Faustus  for  so  easy  a  device. 
Shall  we  say,  with  a  modern  divine,  the  true  believer 
will  accept  both  statements  with  the  same  implicit 
faith.?     This  also  may  be  doubtful. 

To  look  back  upon  the  field  we  have  passed,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  the  claims  made  for  the  Old  Testa- 
ment have  no  foundation  in  fact ;  its  books,  like  others, 
have  a  mingling  of  good  and  evil.  We  see  a  gradual 
progress  of  ideas  therein,  keeping  pace  with  the  civili- 
zation of  the  world.  Vestiges  of  ignorance,  supersti- 
tion, folly,  of  unreclaimed  selfishness,  yet  linger  there. 
Fact  and  fiction  are  strangely  blended ;  the  common  and 
miraculous,  the  divine  and  the  human  run  into  one  an- 
other. We  find  rude  notions  of  God  in  some  parts, 
though  in  others  the  more  lofty.  Here,  the  moral  and 
religious  sentiment  are  insulted;  there,  is  beautiful  in- 
struction for  both.  Human  imperfections  meet  us 
everywhere  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  passions  of 
man  are  ascribed  to  God.  The  Jews  had  a  mythology 
as  well  as  the  Greeks:  they  transform  law  into  mira- 
cles ;  earth  into  a  dream-land ;  it  rains  manna  for  eight 
and  thirty  years,  and  the  smitten  rock  pours  out  water. 
We  see  a  gradual  progress  in  this  as  in  all  mytholo- 
gies :  first,  God  appears  in  person ;  walks  in  the  garden 
in  the  cool  of  the  day;  eats  and  drinks;  makes  con- 
tracts with  his  favorites;  is  angry,  resentful,  sudden 
and  quick  in  quarrel,  and  changes  his  plans  at  the  ad- 


818         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

vice  of  a  cool  man.  Then  it  is  the  Angel  of  God  who 
appears  to  man.  It  is  deemed  fatal  for  man  to  see 
Jehovah.  His  messenger  comes  to  Manoah,  and  van- 
ishes in  the  flame  of  the  sacrifice;  the  angel  of  Jehovah 
appears  to  David.  Next  it  is  only  in  dreams,  visions, 
types,  and  symbols  that  the  Most  High  approaches  his 
children.  He  speaks  to  them  by  night;  comes  in  the 
rush  of  thoughts,  but  is  not  seen.  The  personal  form, 
and  the  visible  angel,  have  faded  and  disappeared  as 
the  daylight  assumed  its  power.  The  nation  advanced ; 
its  rehgion  and  mythology  advanced  with  it.  Then 
again,  sometimes  God  is  represented  as  but  a  local 
deity ;  Jacob  is  surprised  to  find  him  in  a  foreign  land ; 
next  he  is  only  the  God  of  the  Hebrews.     At  last,  the 

ONLY  UVING  AND   TRUE   GOD. 

There  is  a  similar  progress  in  the  notions  of  the  ser- 
vice God  demands.  Abraham  must  offer  Isaac;  with 
Moses,  slain  beasts  are  sufficient ;  Micah  has  outgrown 
the  Mosiac  form  in  some  respects,  and  says,  "  Shall 
Jehovah  be  pleased  with  thousands  of  rams;  shall  I 
give  the  first-born  of  my  body  for  the  sin  of  my  soul? 
what  doth  Jehovah  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly  and 
to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  ?  "  A 
spiritual  man  in  the  midst  of  a  formal  people  saw  the 
pure  truth  which  they  saw  not.  Does  the  Old  Testa- 
ment claim  to  be  master  of  the  soul.?  By  no  means; 
it  is  only  a  phantom  conjured  up  by  superstition  that 
scares  us  in  our  sleep.  Does  the  truth  it  contains  make 
it  a  miraculous  book?  It  is  poor  logic  which  thinks 
what  is  false  can  cease  to  be  false,  though  never  so 
many  wonders  are  wrought  in  its  defense.* 

*0n  the  Old  Testament,  its  authors'  inspiration,  etc.,  see 
some  valuable  remarks  in  Spinoza,  Tract  theoL  polit  Ch.  I.-X. 


THE  BIBLE  319 

XII.  XIII.  See  Norton,  Vol.  II.  Append.  D.  and  his  Letter 
to  Blanco  White  in  Thom,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  1 1.  "J).  250,  et  seq.  See 
also  Ewald,  Gesch.  des  Volkes  Israel,  etc.;  Gott.  1843,  et  seq. 
B.  I.  Vorbereitung:  all  the  six  laborious  volumes  are  rich  in 
hisotrical  results. 


CHAPTER  III 

AN  EXAMINATION  OF  THE  CLAIMS  OF  THE 
NEW  TESTAMENT  TO  BE  A  DIVINE,  MIR- 
ACULOUS, OR  INFALLIBLE  COMPOSITION. 

Let  us  look  the  facts  of  the  New  Testament  also  in 
the  face.     Some  men  are  glad  to  abandon  the  Old  Tes- 
tament to  the  Jews,  but  fear  to  look  into  the  foundation 
of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  lest  it  also  be  found  sandy. 
Does   much  depend   on   the  New   Testament?     Then 
the  more  carefully  must  its  claims  be  examined.     Truth 
courts  the  light,  its  deeds  never  evil.     Are  the  writings 
of  the  New  Testament  divine,  miraculous,  and  infalli- 
ble compositions ;  if  the  Old  Testament  fail  —  the  only 
infallible  rule  of  rehgious  faith  and  practice?     Such  is 
the  prevalent  opinion  with  us.*     After  what  was  said 
above  respecting  the  points  to  be  proved  before  such  a 
conclusion  could  be  admitted,  it  becomes  less  difficult  to 
decide  this  question.     The  general  remarks  respecting 
the  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament  apply  also  to  the 
New,f  and  need  not  be  repeated.     Bearing  these  in 
mind,  let  us  subject  these  writings  to  the  same  test. 
To  do  this  we  must  examine  the  works   themselves. 
This  general  thesis  may  be  affirmed :     All  the  writings 
in  the  New  Testament,  as  well  as  the  Old,   contain 
marks  of  their  human  origin,  of  human  weakness  and 
imperfection. 

•See  Faustus  Socinus,  De  Auctoritate  Sac.  Script.  Ch.  1. 
where  he  defends  the  Scriptures  against  Christians;  and  Ch.  II. 
against  the  non-Christians. 

t  See  above,  B.  IV.  Ch.  I.  and  II. 
320 


THE  BIBLE  321 

Now  in  the  New  Testament  as  in  the  Old,  we  have 
spurious  works  mixed  with  the  genuine.  To  separate 
the  former  from  the  latter,  is  not  an  easy  work,  perhaps 
not  possible,  at  this  day.  However  there  are  some 
books  of  unquestionable  genuineness,  and  others  whose 
spurious  character  is  almost  demonstrated.  Modem 
criticism  and  ancient  authority  seem  to  decide  that  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  not  the  work  of  Paul,  but  of 
some  unknown  author;  that  the  second  Epistle  of 
Peter  is  not  from  that  apostle,  but  from  one  who,  as 
Scaliger  said,  "  abused  his  leisure  time ; "  the  second 
and  third  of  John,  the  Epistles  of  James  and  Jude  are 
not  from  the  apostolic  persons  whose  names  they  bear; 
and  that  the  book  of  the  Revelation  is  not  the  work  of 
John  the  Evangelist.  Serious  objections  have  been 
brought  against  some  other  epistles,  many  of  which 
appear  to  be  well  founded,  and  against  some  of  the 
Evangelists  alluded  to  already. 

Then  if  the  above  remarks  be  correct,  there  are 
seven  works  in  the  New  Testament  whose  claim  to  apos- 
tolical authority  was  anciently  doubted  with  good  rea- 
son. These  disputed  writings  may  be  neglected  in  the 
present  examination.*  If  the  other  writings,  whose 
claim  to  an  apostolic  origin  is  supposed  to  be  stronger, 
are  not  found  miraculous  and  infallible,  still  less  shall 
be  expected  of  these.  The  rest  of  the  New  Testament 
may.  be  divided  into  the  epistolary  and  the  historical 
writings. 

*  The  non^apostoUcal  origin  of  these  seven  books  is  by  no 
means  fixed  and  agreed  upon  by  all  the  critics.  There  is  better 
evidence  for  the  Johannic  origin  of  the  Revelation,  than  of  the 
4th  Gospel.  See,  who  will,  the  discussions  in  the  Introductions 
of  Michaelis,  Hug,  De  Wette,  and  the  numerous  monograms 
on  these  points.    See  above,  p.  233,  note. 

Ill— 21 


322  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

1.  Of  the  Epistolary  Writmgs  of  the  Nem  Testament. 

These  are  the  oldest  Christian  documents ;  the  works 
of  Paul,  Peter,  and  John,  the  most  illustrious  of  the 
early  disciples,  the  "  chief  est  apostles,"  and  most  instru- 
mental in  founding  the  Christian  church.  If  any  of 
the  early  Christians  received  miraculous  inspiration,  it 
must  be  the  apostles ;  if  any  of  the  apostles,  it  must  be 
one,  or  all,  of  these  three.  To  determine  their  claims, 
the  works  of  the  three  may  be  examined  together,  for 
the  sake  of  brevity. 

Now  at  the  first  view  of  these  fifteen  epistles,  it  does 
not  appear  that  any  miraculous  inspiration  was  re- 
quired to  write  these  more  than  the  letters  of  St.  Cy- 
prian or  Fenelon.  They  contain  nothing  above  the 
reach  of  human  faculties,  and  to  assume  a  miraculous 
agency  is  contrary  to  the  inductive  method,  to  say  the 
least  of  it. 

Do  the  writers  ever  claim  a  peculiar  and  miraculous 
inspiration?  The  furthest  from  it  possible.  Paul 
speaks  of  his  inspiration,  but  admits  that,  of  all  Chris- 
tians, "  No  man  can  say  Jesus  is  the  Lord,"  that  is, 
Christianity  is  true,  "but  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  He 
refers  wisdom,  faith,  eloquence,  learning,  skill  in  the 
interpretation  of  tongues,  ability  to  teach,  or  heal  dis- 
eases, to  inspiration :  "  All  these  worketh  that  one  and 
selfsame  spirit."*  The  Spirit  of  Christ  was  in  all 
Christian  hearts ;  they  all  received  the  "  Spirit  of  God." 
That  was  Paul's  view  of  inspiration.  He  and  his 
fellow-apostles  were  servants  that  helped  others  to  be- 
lieve. He  had  the  gift  of  teaching  in  a  more  eminent 
degree,  and  enjoyed  a  greater  "  abundance  of  revela- 
tions," and  therefore  taught.  John  carries  the  doc- 
*Cor.  XII.  1,  et  seq. 


THE  BIBLE  SftS 

trine  of  the  universal  inspiration  of  Christians  still  fur- 
ther. 

Now,  if  the  apostles  had  this  miraculous  and  pecu- 
liar inspiration,  and  through  modesty  did  not  state  it, 
they  must  yet  have  known  the  fact.  But  it  is  notorious 
they  taught  not  in  the  name  of  any  private  inspira- 
tion, but  in  that  of  Jesus.* 

But  even  if  the  apostles  claimed  miraculous  and  in- 
fallible inspiration,  and  taught  with  authority  they 
pretended  to  derive  therefrom,  still  their  claim  could 
not  be  granted,  for,  if  infalHbly  inspired,  they  must  be 
ready  for  all  emergencies.  Now  a  practical  question 
arose  in  a  novel  case,  which  was  a  test  of  their  inspi- 
ration: Should  they  admit  the  Gentiles  to  Christian- 
ity.? The  book  of  Acts  relates,  that  Peter  required  a 
special  and  miraculous  vision  to  enlighten  him  on  this 
head.  He  seems  surprised  to  find  that  "  God  is  no  re- 
specter of  persons,"  but  will  allow  aU  religious  men  of 
any  nation  to  become  Christians. f  Had  he  been  mirac- 
ulously inspired  before,  to  what  purpose  the  vision  ? 

If  the  apostles  were  infallibly  inspired,  they  could 
not  disagree  on  any  point.  Now  another  question 
comes  up :  Shall  the  Gentiles  keep  the  old  ceremonial 
law  of  Moses,  and  be  circumcised?  J  It  would  seem 
that  men  of  common  freedom  of  thought,  who  had 
heard  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  would  not  need  miraculous 
help  to  decide  so  plain  a  question.     If  they  had  the 

*This  point  has  been  ably  touched  by  Spinoza,  Tract,  theol. 
polit.  chap.  XI.  ed.  Paulus.  Vol.  I.  p.  315,  et  seq.  From  him 
both  Leclerc,  Sentimens  de  quelques  Theologiens,  etc.,  and  Rich. 
Simon,  (Hist.  Crit.  du  V.  T.)  seem  to  have  drawn  some  of  their 
stores.  See  also  the  acute  remarks  of  Lessing,  Werke;  ed. 
Carlsruhe,  1824,  Vol,  XXIV.  p.  84,  et  seq. 

t  Acts  X.  1,  et  seq_. 

tActs  XV.  1,  et  seq. 


SU         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

alleged  inspiration,  each  must  know  at  once  how  to 
decide,  and  all  would  decide  in  the  same  way  without 
consultation.  But  such  was  not  the  fact;  they  were 
divided  on  this  very  question  —  plain  as  it  is  —  and 
held  a  meeting  of  the  Christians ;  the  "  apostles  and 
elders  came  together  to  consider  this  matter."  It  was 
not  a  plain  case,  there  was  "  much  disputing  "  about 
it.  Peter,  Barnabas,  and  Paul,  spoke  against  the  Law ; 
James,  as  chairman  of  the  meeting,  sums  up  the  mat- 
ter before  putting  the  question,  takes  a  middle  ground, 
proposes  a  resolution  that  all  the  Mosiac  ritual  should 
not  be  imposed  upon  the  Gentile  converts,  but  only 
a  few  of  its  prohibitions,  which  he  reckons  "  necessary 
things."  He  comes  to  this  conclusion,  not  by  special 
inspiration  —  of  which  no  mention  is  made  in  the  meet- 
ing—  but  from  Peter's  statement  of  facts,  and  from 
a  passage  in  the  Prophet  who  says,  that  "  all  the  Gen- 
tiles might  seek  after  the  Lord."  The  question  was 
put ;  the  chairman's  motion  prevailed ;  a  circular  was 
drawn  up  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  as- 
sembly, and  sent  to  the  Churches.  But  Paul  and 
Peter  seem  to  have  disregarded  it,  one  going  beyond, 
the  other  falling  short  of  its  requisitions. 

Then,  again,  the  apostles  differed  on  some  points. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  had  a  sharp  contention,  and  sep- 
arated.* Could  infallible  men  fall  out.?  Paul  had  lit- 
tle respect  for  those  "  that  were  apostles  before  him," 
and  "  withstood  Peter  to  the  face."  f 

These  apostles  were  mistaken  in  several  things;  in 
their  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testament,  as  any  one 
may  see  by  examining  the  passages  cited  by  Peter  in 

•Acts  XV.  39. 

tGal.  I.  11,-11.  14.     See  Middleton's  Reflections  on  the  dis- 
pute between  Peter  and  Paul,  Works,  Vol.  II. 


THE  BIBLE  8«6 

the  Acts,*  or  the  writings  of  Paul.f  They  were  all 
mistaken  in  this  capital  doctrine:  *That  Jesus  would 
return  to  Judea,  the  general  resurrection  and  judgment 
take  place,  and  the  world  be  destroyed  'within  a  very 
few  years,  during  the  lifetime  of  the  apostles.  This 
is  a  very  strongly  marked  feature  in  their  teaching.  J 
From  the  doubtful  epistle  ascribed  to  Peter,  it  seems 
that  as  times  went  by  and  the  world  continued,  scoffers 
very  naturally  doubted  the  truth  of  this  opinion,§  but 
were  assured  it  would  hold  good. 

II.  Of  the  Historical  Writings  of  the  New  Testament, 

Here  we  have,  apparently,  though  I  think  not  really, 
the  works  of  Matthew  and  John,  two  of  the  immediate 
disciples  of  Jesus,  and  of  Mark  and  Luke,  the  com- 
panions of  Peter  and  Paul.  The  first  question  is,  have 
we  really  the  works  of  these  four  writers?  It  is  a 
question  which  can  by  no  means  be  readily  and  satis- 
factorily answered  in  the  affirmative.  However,  it  can- 
not be  entered  upon  in  this  place ;  1 1  but  admitting,  in 
argument,  the  works  are  genuine,  at  the  first  view, 

*  Acts  II.  14-21,  25-34,  III.  18,  21-24,  IV.  25,  26,  et  al. 

t  Gal.  IV.  24,  et  seq. ;  1  Cor.  X.  4,  et  seq.,  et  al. 

t  See  the  essay  of  Mr.  Norton  on  this  point,  in  Statement  of 
Reasons,  etc.  p.  297,  et  seq.,  and  De  Potter,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  I.  p. 
cxl.  et  seq. 

§2  Pet.  III.  4,  et  seq. 

1 1  On  the  affirmative  side,  see  Paley,  Evidences,  Pt.  I.;  the 
masterly  Treatise  of  Mr.  Norton,  Genuineness  of  the  Gospels; 
Prof.  Stuart's  Review  of  it  in  Bib.  Rep.  for  1837-8;  and 
Lardner's  Credibility,  etc.  See,  on  the  other  side,  the  popular 
but  important  remarks  of  Hennel,  ubi  sup.  ch.  III.-VI.  Sec 
also  Strauss;  Glaubenslehre,  §  15;  and  the  Life  of  Jesus,  by 
Strauss,  Theile,  Neander,  etc.,  etc.;  the  Introductions  of  Hug, 
De  Wette,  and  Credner.  Bruno  Baur's  Kritik  der  evang. 
Geschichte  des  Johannes;  1840,  and  der  Synoptiker;  1841.  See 
above,  the  references  B.  III.  ch.  II.  at  end. 


826         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

there  seems  no  need  of  miraculous  inspiration  in  the 
case  of  honest  men  wishing  to  relate  what  they  had 
seen,  heard,  or  felt.  It  is  not  easy  to  see  why  miracu- 
lous and  infallible  inspiration  was  needed  to  write  the 
memoirs  of  Jesus  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  more 
than  the  memoirs  of  Socrates,  or  the  Acts  of  the  Mar- 
tyrs. The  writers  never  claim  such  an  inspiration. 
Matthew  and  Mark  never  speak  of  themselves  as  writ- 
ers ;  Luke  refers  to  certain  "  eye-witnesses  and  ministers 
of  the  Word"  as  his  authority  for  the  facts  of  the 
Gospel.  John  claims  it  as  little  as  the  others,  though 
an  unknown  writer,  at  the  end  of  his  Gospels,  testifies 
to  the  truth  of  the  narrative.* 

But  even  if  they  made  this  claim,  so  often  made 
for  them,  it  could  not  be  granted,  for  their  testimony 
does  not  agree.  The  Jesus  of  the  synoptics  diflPers 
very  widely  from  the  Jesus  of  John,  in  his  actions,  dis- 
courses, and  general  spiritual  character,  as  much  as  the 
Socrates  of  Xenophon  from  that  of  Plato.  This 
point  was  early  acknowledged  by  Christian  fathers. 
But  not  to  dwell  on  a  general  disagreement,  nor  to 
come  down  to  the  perpetual  and  well-known  disagree- 
ment in  minute  details,  there  is  a  most  striking  differ- 
ence between  the  genealogies  of  Jesus  as  given  by 
Matthew  and  Luke.  Both  agree  that  Jesus  was  de- 
scended from  David  by  the  father's  side :  but  Matthew 
counts  twenty-five  ancestors  between  David  and  Joseph, 
the  husband  of  Mary,  and  Luke  enumerates  forty  an- 
cestors, of  whom  thirty-eight  are  never  mentioned  by 
Matthew;  one  derives  his  descent  from  the  illustrious 
Solomon,  the  other  from  the  obscure  Nathan;  one 
makes    Nazareth    Joseph's    dwelling-place,    the    other 

♦Luke  I.  1,  et  seq.    (See  Acts  I.  1,  et  seq.)    John  XXI.  24. 


THE  BIBLE  32T 

Bethlehem.  They  disagree,  likewise,  in  numerous  par- 
ticulars of  the  early  history,  such*  as  the  miracu- 
lous appearance  of  the  star,  the  Magi,  the  flight  into 
Egypt,  the  songs,  the  angels,  and  the  dreams.*  Yet 
notwithstanding  these  genealogies  both  agree  that 
Jesus  had  no  human  father,  a  fact  never  referred  to 
by  Mark  or  John,  by  Peter  or  Paul,  nor  in  the  re- 
corded words  of  Jesus  himself,  or  the  people  about 
him,  who  took  him  for  the  son  of  Joseph  the  carpenter. 
If  he  had  no  human  father,  how  was  he  descended  from 
David.''  Are  we  to  believe  a  miracle  so  surprising,  on 
the  doubtful  statement  of  two  men  whom  we  know  noth- 
ing of,  but  who  contradict  themselves  and  one  another, 
and  relate  the  strongest  marvels.'^  Is  it  a  part  of  reli- 
gion to  believe  such  stories.?  What  else  would  we  be* 
lieve  on  such  evidence?  It  were  easy  to  point  out 
other  disagreements  in  the  words,  and  actions,  and 
predictions  ascribed  to  Jesus;  in  the  accounts  of  his 
resurrection  and  the  impossible  events  of  his  subse- 
quent history,  but  it  is  not  needed  for  the  present  pur- 
pose.f  The  book  of  the  Acts,  of  a  mythical  and  leg- 
endary character,  requires  no  special  examination. 

This,  however,  must  be  admitted,  that  the  facts  of 
the  case  will  not  warrant  the  claim  of  miraculous  and 
infallible  inspiration  that  is  made  for  them;  and  that 
we  are  to  examine  with  great  caution  before  we  accept 

*See  these  discrepancies  ably  stated  by  Mr.  Norton,  Vol.  I. 
p.  liii.  et  seq.,  and  Strauss,  Life  of  Jesus,  §  19-38,  and  the 
popular  statement  in  Harwood,  ubi  sup.  p.  20,  et  seq.;  Hennel, 
ubi  sup.  ch.  III.  V.  Middleton,  Reflections  on  the  Variations 
in  the  Gospels,  Works,  Vol.  II.  See  Weisseler's  attempt  to 
reconcile  theae  genealogies.  Stud,  und  Krit.  fiir  1845,  p. 
361,  et  seq.     Compare  the  Apocryphal  Gospels. 

tSee,  who  will,  Evanson,  Dissonance  of  the  Evangelists, 
Gloucester,  1805;  Strauss,  §  132-142;  Wolfenbuttel.  Fragment 
Ueber  Auferstehungsgeschichte,  and  the  numerous  replies. 


328  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

their  statements,  which,  in  detail,  have  often  but  a  low 
degree  of  historical  credibility.* 

These  facts  cannot  be  hushed  up,  nor  put  out  of 
sight;  we  must  look  them  in  the  face.  They  have 
pained  already  many  a  breaking  heart,  which  could 
not  separate  the  truth  of  religion  from  the  errors  of 
the  Christian  record  —  felt  with  groans  that  could  not 
be  uttered.  It  need  not  be  so.  Christianity  is  one 
thing;  the  Christian  document  a  very  different  matter. 
In  them,  as  in  the  Old  Testament,  there  is  a  mythology ; 
the  natural  and  the  supernatural  are  confounded.  The 
Gospels  cannot  be  taken  as  historical  "  authorities," 
until  a  searching  criticism  has  separated  their  mytho- 
logical and  legendary  narratives,  from  what  is  purely, 
a  matter-of-fact.  Some  attempt  to  remove  the  diffi- 
culty by  striking  out  the  offensive  passages,f  and 
others  by  explaining  them  away,  and  still  claim  mirac- 
ulous infallibility  for  all  the  rest,  which  the  writers 
never  claim  for  themselves  nor  allow  one  another.  Let 
us  rest  on  things  as  they  are;  not  try,  to  base  our 
Church  on  things  that  are  not. 

It  may  be  asked:  If  there  is  no  foundation  of  fact 
for  the  miraculous  part  of  the  narrative,  why  did  the 
writers  dwell  so  much  on  this  part  ?  The  question  may 
be  asked  in  the  case  of  the  catholic  miracles;  those 
of  St.  Bernard;  of  witchcraft  and  possessions  before 
named.  It  is  at  least  difficult  to  determine  what  lay 
at  the  bottom  of  the  matter.  But  this  is  a  fixed  point, 
that  devils,  ghosts,  and  witches  only  appear  where 
they  were  previously  believed  in,  and  there  they  con- 

•On  the  Credibility  of  Historians,  see  Arnold,  Introduct. 
Lect  on  Mod.  Hist.;  Lond.  1843,  Lect.  VIII.  See  the  valuable 
remarks  of  Grote,  History  of  Greece;  London,  1849,  Vol  I. 

t  See  Norton,  Vol.  I.  p.  liii.  et  seq. 


THE  BIBLE  329 

tinually  appear ;  "  imagination  bodies  forth  the  forms 
of  things  not  seen."  The  Cathohc  sefes  the  Virgin,  and 
the  Mormonite  finds  miracles  to-day.  Will  not  the 
same  cause  —  whatever  be  it  —  help  to  explain  the  vis- 
ions of  Paul,  the  angels,  and  miracles  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament? It  is  not  many  years  since  the  divines  of  New 
England  made  collections  of  accounts  of  the  devil  ap- 
pearing to  men.  If  a  religious  teacher  should  appear 
at  the  time  and  place  as  Jesus  appeared,  it  would  be 
surprising,  almost  beyond  belief,  if  miraculous  tales 
were  not  connected  with  his  birth,  life,  and  death.  An- 
tiquity is  full  of  sons  of  God,  and  wonder-workers. 
The  story  of  Lazarus,  and  even  that  of  the  ascension, 
is  not  without  its  parallels. 

But  if  all  the  charges  against  the  New  Testament 
are  true,  what  then?  Why,  this:  honest  men;  noble, 
pious,  simple-hearted  men;  the  zealous  Apostles  of 
Christianity;  the  first  to  espouse  it;  willing  to  leave 
all,  comfort,  friends,  life  for  its  sake,  after  all,  were 
but  men,  such  as  are  bom  in  these  days,  falUble,  like 
ourselves;  often  in  intellectual  and  moral  error;  they 
shared  like  us,  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the 
times,  and  though  earnest  in  looking  saw  not  all 
things,  but,  as  the  wisest  of  them  said,  "through  a 
glass  darkly,"  and  made  some  confusion  among  things 
they  did  see.  Do  we  ask  miraculous  evidence  to  prove 
that  Jesus  lived  a  divine  life?  We  can  have  no  such 
testimony.  We  know  that  if  he  taught  Absolute  Re- 
ligion, his  Christianity  is  absolutely  true;  that  if  he 
did  not  teach  it,  still  Absolute  Religion  remains,  the 
everlasting  rock  of  faith,  in  spite  of  the  defects  of  his- 
torical evidence,  or  the  limitations  of  this  or  that  man. 
Has  the  New  Testament  exaggerated  the  greatness  and 


330  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

embellished   the   beauty    of   Jesus?     Measure   his   re- 
ligious doctrine  by  that  of  the  time  and  place  he  lived 
in,  or  that  of  any  time  and  any  place !     Yes,  by  the 
doctrine  of  eternal  truth.     Consider  what  a  work  his 
words  and  deeds  have  wrought  in  the  world;  that  he 
Is  still  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life  to  millions ; 
that  he  is  reckoned  a  God  by  the  mass  of  Christians, 
his  word  their  standard  of  truth,  his  life  the  ideal  they 
cce  too  far  above  them  in  the  heavens  for  their  imi- 
tation; remember  that  though  other  minds  have  seen 
further,  and  added  new  truths  to  his  doctrine  of  re- 
ligion, yet  the  richest  hearts  have  felt  no  deeper,  and 
added  nothing  to  the  sentiment  of  religion;  have  set 
no  loftier  aim,  no  truer  method  than  his  of  perfect  love 
to  God  and  man,  and  then  ask,  have  the  evangelists 
overrated  him?     We  can  learn  few  facts  about  Jesus; 
but  measure  him  by  the  shadow  he  has  cast  into  the 
world;  no,  by  the  light  he  has  shed  upon  it,  not  by 
things  in  which  Hercules  was  his  equal,  and  Vishnu  his 
superior.     Shall  we  be  told,  such  a  man  never  lived; 
the  whole  story  is  a  lie?     Suppose  that  Plato  and 
Newton  never  lived ;  that  their  story  is  a  lie.     But  who 
did  their  works,  and  thought  their  thought?     It  takes 
a  Newton  to  forge  a  Newton.     What  man  could  have 
fabricated  a  Jesus?     None  but  a  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  ABSOLUTE   RELIGION   INDEPENDENT 

OF  HISTORICAL  DOCUMENTS  — 

THE  BIBLE  AS  IT  IS 

This  doctrine  of  the  infallible  inspiration  of  the 
scriptures  has  greater  power  with  Christians  at  this 
day  than  in  Paul's  time.  In  the  first  ages  of  Chris- 
tianity, each  apostle  was  superior  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. There  were  no  scriptures  to  rely  on,  for  the 
New  Testament  was  not  written,  and  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was  hostile.  The  Law  stood  in  their  way,  a  law 
of  sin  and  death;  the  greatest  prophets  were  inferior 
to  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  least  in  the  Christian 
kingdom  was  greater  than  he ;  *  all  before  Jesus  were 
"  thieves  and  robbers "  in  comparison.  Yet  Chris- 
tianity stood  without  the  New  Testament.  It  went 
forward  without  it;  made  converts  and  produced  a 
wondrous  change  in  the  world.  The  Old  Testament 
was  the  servant,  not  the  master  of  the  early  Christians. 
Each  church  used  what  it  saw  fit.  Some  had  the 
whole  of  the  Old  Testament;  some  but  a  part;  others 
added  the  Apocrypha,  for  there  was  no  settled  canon 
"  published  by  authority,  and  appointed  to  be  read  in 
churches."  So  it  was  with  the  New  Testament.  Some 
received  more  than  we,  others  less.  Such  men  as  Jus- 
tin, Ignatius,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  and  Origen,  re- 
fer to  some  other  books,  just  as  they  quote  the  New 

*The  opinion  of  some  disciples  about  the  excellence  of  that 
kingdom  may  be  seen  in  Irenaeus,  Lib.  II.  Ch.  33,  where  he 
speaks  of  the  Vine-Stocks. 

331 


332  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Testament.  The  canon  of  the  New  Testament  was 
less  certain  than  the  Old.  Men  followed  usage,  tra- 
dition, or  good  sense  in  this  matter,  and  at  last  the 
present  collection  was  fixed  by  authority.  But  by 
what  test  were  its  limits  decided.?  Alas,  by  no  certain 
criterion.* 

Let  us  look  at  things  as  they  are.  Here  is  a  collec- 
tion of  ancient  books,  spurious  and  genuine,  Hebrew 
and  Greek.  The  one  part  belongs  to  a  mode  of  wor- 
ship, formal  and  obsolete;  the  other  to  a  religion, 
actual,  spiritual,  still  alive.  The  one  gives  us  a  Jeho- 
vah jealous  and  angry ;  the  other  a  Father  full  of  love. 
Each  writer  in  both  divisions  proves  by  his  imperfec- 
tions that  the  earth  did  not  formerly  produce  a  differ- 
ent race  of  men.  They  contradict  one  another,  and 
some  relate  what  no  testimony  can  render  less  than 
absurd;  but  yet  all  taken  together,  spite  of  their  im- 
perfections and  positive  faults,  form  such  a  collection 
of  religious  writings  as  the  world  never  saw,  so  deep, 
so  divine.  Are  not  the  Christian  gospels  and  the  He- 
brew Psalms  still  often  the  best  part  of  the  Sunday 
service  in  the  church?  Truly  there  is  but  one  religion 
for  the  Jew,  the  Gentile,  and  the  Christian,  though 
many  theologies  and  ceremonies  for  each. 

Now,  unless  we  reject  this  treasure  entirely,  one  of 
two  things  must  be  done:  either  we  must  pretend  to 
believe  the  whole,  absurdities  and  all;  make  one  part 
just  as  valuable  as  the  other,  the  law  of  Moses  as  the 
gospel  of  Jesus,  David's  curse  as  Christ's  blessing, — 

*0n  the  use  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  early  times,  see 
Credner,  Beitrage  zur  Einleit.  in  biblischen  Schriften.  Ch.  I.  p. 
1-90.  Munscher,  Handbuch  der  Dogmengeschichte,  Vol.  I.  § 
30-84.  August!,  Christlichen  Archaologie,  Vol.  VI.  p.  1-244, 
and  De  Wette,  Vol.  I.  §  18-29. 


THE  BIBLE  333 

and  then  we  make  the  Bible  our  master,  who  puts 
common  sense  and  reason  to  silence,  and  drives  con- 
science and  the  religious  element  out  of  the  church: 
or  else  we  must  accept  what  is  true,  good,  and  divine 
therein;  take  each  part  for  what  it  is  worth;  gather 
the  good  together,  and  leave  the  bad  to  itself  —  and 
then  we  make  the  Bible  our  servant  and  helper,  who 
assists  common  sense  and  reason,  stimulates  conscience 
and  religion,  coworking  with  them  all.  A  third  thing 
is  not  possible. 

Which  shall  be  done?  The  practical  answer  was 
given  long  ago;  it  has  always  been  given,  except  in 
times  of  fanatical  excitement.  Because  there  is  chaff, 
and  husks  in  the  Bible,  are  we  to  eat  of  them,  when 
there  is  bread  enough  and  to  spare?  Pious  men  neg- 
lect what  does  not  edify.*  Who  reads  gladly  the 
curses  of  the  Psalmist;  chapters  that  make  God  a 
man  of  war,  a  jealous  God,  the  butcher  of  the  nations? 
Certainly  but  few ;  let  them  be  exhorted  to  repentance. 
Men  cannot  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  grasp  them  never 
so  lovingly;  honest  men  will  leave  the  thorns,  or 
pluck  them  up.  Now  criticism  —  which  the  thinking 
character  of  the  age  demands  —  asks  men  to  do  con- 
sciously, and  thoroughly  what  they  have  always  done 
imperfectly  and  with  no  science  but  that  of  a  pious 
heart;  that  is,  to  divide  the  word  rightly;  separate 
mythology  from  history,  fact  from  fiction,  what  is 
religious  and  of  God,  from  what  is  earthly  and  not  of 
God ;  to  take  the  Bible  for  what  it  is  worth.  Fearful 
of  the  issue  we  may  put  off  the  question  a  few  years ; 
may  insist  as  strongly  as  ever  on  what  we  know  to  be 

*  See  Augustine,  Doct.  Christiana,  Lib.  I.  C.  39,  who  says  a 
man,  supported  by  faith,  hope,  and  charity,  does  not  need  the 
Bible  except  to  teach  others  with. 


334         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

false ;  ask  men  to  believe  it,  because  in  the  records,  and 
thus  drive  bad  men  to  hypocrisy,  good  men  to  mad- 
ness, and  thinking  men  to  "  infidelity ;"  we  may  throw 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  religion  and  morality,  and  tie 
the  mill-stone  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  about 
the  neck  of  piety  as  before.  We  may  call  men  "  in- 
fidels and  atheists,"  whom  reason  and  religion  compel 
to  uphf t  their  voice  against  the  idolatry  of  the  church ; 
or  we  may  attempt  to  smooth  over  the  matter,  and  say 
nothing  about  it,  or  not  what  we  think.  But  it  will 
not  do.  The  day  of  fire  and  fagots  is  ended;  the 
toothless  "  Guardian  of  the  Faith "  can  only  bark. 
The  question  will  come,  though  alas  for  that  man  by 
whom  it  comes. 

Other  religions  have  their  sacred  books,  their  Korans, 
Vedas,  Shasters,  which  must  be  received  in  spite  of 
reason,  as  masters  of  the  soul.  Some  would  put  the 
Bible  on  the  same  ground.  They  glory  in  believing 
whatever  is  prefaced  with  a  thus-saith-the-Lord ;  but 
then  all  superiority  of  the  Bible  over  these  books 
disappears  forever;  the  daylight  gives  place  to  the 
shadow;  the  law  of  sin  and  death  casts  out  the  law 
of  the  spirit  of  life.  Let  honest  reason  and  religion 
pursue  their  own  way. 


CHAPTER  V   * 

CAUSE  OF  THE  FALSE  AND  THE  REAL 
VENERATION  FOR  THE  BIBLE 

The  indolent  and  the  sensual  love  to  have  a  visible 
master  in  spiritual  things,  who  will  spare  them  the 
agony  of  thought.  Credulity,  ignorance,  and  supersti- 
tion conjure  up  phantoms  to  attend  them.  Some 
honest  men  find  it  difficult  to  live  nobly  and  divine ;  to 
keep  the  well  of  life  pure  and  undisturbed,  the  inward 
ear  always  open  and  quick  to  the  voice  of  God  in  the 
soul.  They  see,  too,  how  often  the  ignorant,  the 
wicked,  the  superstitious,  and  the  fanatical  confound 
their  own  passions  with  the  still  small  voice  of  God; 
they  see  what  evil,  deep  and  dreadful,  comes  of  this 
confusion.  Such  is  the  force  of  prejudice,  indolence, 
habit,  they  find  it  sometimes  difficult  to  distinguish  be- 
tween right  and  wrong ;  they  love  to  lean  on  the  Most 
High,  and  the  Bible  is  declared  His  word.  They  say, 
therefore,  by  their  action,  let  us  have  some  outward 
rule  and  authority,  which,  being  infallible,  shall  help 
the  still  smallness  of  God's  voice  in  the  heart;  it  will 
bless  us  when  weak;  we  will  make  it  our  master  and 
obey  its  voice.  It  shall  be  to  us  as  a  god,  and  we  will 
fall  down  and  worship  it.  But  alas,  it  is  not  so.  The 
word  of  God  —  no  scripture  will  hold  that.  It  speaks 
in  a  language  no  honest  mind  can  fail  to  read.  Such 
seem  the  most  prominent  causes  that  have  made  the 
Bible  an  idol  of  the  Christians. 

No  doubt  it  will  be  said,  "  such  views  are  dangerous, 
for  the  mass  of  men  must  always  take  authority  for 

335 


336  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

truth,  not  truth  for  authority."  But  are  they  not 
true?  If  so  the  consequences  are  not  ours;  they  be- 
long to  the  author  of  truth,  who  can  manage  his  own 
affairs,  without  our  meddhng.  Is  the  wrong  way  safer 
than  the  right?  No  doubt  it  was  reckoned  dangerous 
to  abandon  the  worship  of  Diana  of  the  cross,  the 
saints  and  their  reliques ;  but  the  world  stands,  though 
"  the  image  that  fell  down  from  Jupiter  "  is  forgotten. 
If  these  doctrines  be  true,  men  need  not  fear  they  shall 
have  no  "  standard  of  religious  faith  and  practice." 
Reason,  conscience,  heart,  and  soul  still  remain ;  God's 
voice  in  nature;  His  word  in  man.  His  laws  remain 
ever  unchanged,  though  we  set  up  our  idols  or  pluck 
them  down.  We  still  have  the  same  guide  with  Moses 
and  David,  Socrates  and  Zoroaster,  Paul  and  John 
and  Luther,  Fenelon,  Taylor,  and  Fox;  yes,  the  same 
guide  that  led  Jesus,  the  first-born  of  many  brothers,  in 
his  steep  and  lonely  pilgrimage. 

This  doctrine  takes  nothing  from  the  Bible  but  its 
errors,  which  only  weaken  its  strength;  its  truth  re- 
mains, brilliant  and  burning  with  the  light  of  life.  It 
calls  us  away  from  each  outward  standard  to  the 
eternal  truths  of  God ;  from  the  letter  and  the  imper-- 
feet  scripture  of  the  word  to  the  living  word  itself. 
Then  we  see  the  true  relation  the  Bible  sustains  to  the 
soul;  the  cause  of  the  real  esteem  in  which  it  is  held 
is  seen  to  be  in  its  moral  and  religious  truths;  their 
power  and  loveliness  appear.  These  have  had  the 
greatest  influence  on  the  loftiest  minds  and  the  lowliest 
hearts  for  eighteen  hundred  years.  How  they  have 
written  themselves  all  over  the  world,  deepest  in  the 
best  of  men !  What  greatness  of  soul  has  been  found 
amid  the  fragrant  leaves  of  the  Bible,  sufficient  to  lead 
men  to  embrace  its  truths,  though  at  the  expense  of 
accepting  tales  which  make  the  blood  curdle! 


THE  BIBLE  33T 

Take  the  Bible  for  what  is  true  in  it,  and  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis  is  a  grand  hymn  of  creation,  a 
worthy  prelude  of  the  sublime  chants  that  follow;  it 
sings  this  truth :  the  world  was  not  always ;  is  not  the 
work  of  chance,  but  of  the  living  God ;  all  things  are 
good,  made  to  be  blest.  The  writer  —  who,  perhaps, 
never  thought  he  was  writing  "  an  article  of  faith  " — 
if  he  were  a  Jew,  might  superstitiously  refer  the  Sab- 
bath to  the  time  of  creation  and  the  agency  of  God, 
just  as  the  Greek  refers  one  festival  to  Hercules,  and 
another  to  Bacchus.  Then  oriental  piety  comes  beau- 
tiful from  the  grave  hewn  in  the  rock  by  our  dull 
theology;  utters  her  word  of  counsel  and  hope;  sings 
her  mythological  poem,  and  warms  the  heart,  but  does 
not  teach  theology,  or  physical  science. 

The  sweet  notes  of  David's  prayer ;  his  mystic  hymn 
of  praise,  so  full  of  rippling  life;  his  lofty  Psalm, 
which  seems  to  unite  the  warbling  music  of  the  wind,  the 
sun's  glance,  and  the  rush  of  the  lightning ;  which  calls 
on  the  mountain  and  the  sea,  and  beast,  and  bird,  and 
man,  to  join  his  full  heart, —  all  these  shall  be  sweet 
and  elevating,  but  we  shall  leave  his  pernicious  curse 
to  perish  where  it  fell. 

The  excellence  of  the  Hebrew  devotional  hymns  has 
never  been  surpassed.  Heathenism,  Christianity,  with 
all  their  science,  arts,  literature,  bright  and  many-col- 
ored, have  little  that  approach  these.  They  are  the 
despair  of  imitators ;  still  the  uttered  prayer  of  the 
Christian  world.  Tell  us  of  Greece,  whose  air  was  red- 
olent of  song ;  its  language  such  as  Jove  might  speak ; 
its  sages,  heroes,  poets,  honored  in  every  clime, —  they 
have  no  psalm  of  prayer  and  praise  like  these  Hebrews, 
the  devoutest  af  men,  who  saw  God  always  before 
them,  ready  to  take  them  up  when  father  and  mother  let 

them  fall. 
Ill— 22 


3g8         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Some  of  the  old  prophets  were  men  of  stalwart  and 
robust  character,  set  off  by  a  masculine  piety  that  puts 
to  shame  our  puny  littleness  of  heart.  They  saw  hope 
the  plainest  when  danger  was  most  imminent,  and 
never  despaired.  Fear  of  the  people,  the  rulers,  the 
priests,  could  not  awe  them  to  silence,  nor  gold  buy 
smooth  things  from  the  prophet's  tongue.  They  left 
hypocrisy,  with  his  weeds  and  weepers,  and  feigning 
but  unstained  handkerchief,  to  follow  the  coffin  he 
knew  to  be  empty,  and  went  their  own  way,  as  men. 
What  shall  screen  the  guilty  from  the  prophet's  word.? 
Even  David  is  met  with  a  Thou-art-the-man.  What  if 
they  were  stoned,  imprisoned,  sawn  asunder.?  It  was 
a  prophet's  reward.  They  did  not  prophesy  smooth 
things ;  they  gave  the  truth  and  took  blows,  not  asking 
love  for  love.  If  these  men  are  set  up  as  masters  of 
the  soul,  justice  must  break  her  staff  over  their  heads. 
But  view  them  as  patriots  whom  danger  aroused  from 
the  repose  of  life ;  as  pious  men  awakened  by  concern 
for  the  public  virtue,  and  nobler  men  never  spoke 
speech. 

Out  from  the  heart  of  nature  rolled 
The  burdens  of  the  Bible  old.* 

Little  needs  now  be  said  of  the  New  Testament,  of 
the  simple  truth  that  rustles  in  its  leaves,  its  parables, 
epistles,  where  Paul  lifts  up  his  manly  voice,  and  John, 
or  whoso  wrote  the  words,  pours  out  the  mystic  melody 
of  his  faith.  Why  tell  the  deep  words  of  Jesus? 
Have  we  exhausted  their  meaning?  The  world  —  has 
it  outgrown  love  to  God  and  man.?  They  still  act  in 
gentle  bosoms,  giving  strength  to  the  strong,  and 
justice  and  meekness  and  charity  and  faith  to  beauti- 

*  Emerson. 


THE  BIBLE  339 

ful  souls,  long  tried  and  oppressed.     There  is  no  need 
of  new  words  to  tell  of  this. 

Now  it  is  not  in  nature  to  respect  the  false,  and  yet 
reverence  the  true.  Call  the  Bible  master  —  we  do  not 
see  the  excellence  it  has.  Take  it  as  other  books,  we 
have  its  beauty,  truth,  religion,  not  its  deformities, 
fables,  and  theology.  We  shall  not  believe  in  ghosts, 
though  Isaiah  did;  nor  in  devils,  though  Jesus  teach 
there  are  such.  We  shall  see  the  excellence  of  Paul  in 
his  manly  character,  not  in  the  miracles  wrought  by  his 
apron ;  the  nobleness  of  Jesus,  in  the  doctrine  he  taught 
and  the  life  he  lived,  not  in  the  walk  on  the  water  or 
the  miraculous  draughts  of  fish.  We  shall  care  little 
about  the  "  endless  genealogies  and  old-wives'  fables," 
though  still  deemed  essential  by  many  —  but  much  for 
being  good  and  doing  good.  Our  faith  —  let  him 
shake  down  the  Andes  who  has  an  arm  for  that  work. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  that  accepts  the  monstrous 
prodigies  of  the  gospels ;  is  delighted  to  believe  that 
Jesus  had  divine  authority  for  laying  on  forms,  and 
damning  all  but  the  baptized ;  that  he  gave  Peter  au- 
thority to  bind  and  loose  on  earth  and  in  heaven ; 
commanding  his  disciples  to  make  friends  of  "  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness,"  to  tease  God,  as  an  un- 
just judge,  into  compliance,  with  vain  repetitions  — 
can  he  accept  the  absolute  religion  ?  It  is  not  possible, 
for  a  long  time,  to  make  serious  things  of  trifles,  with- 
out making  trifles  of  serious  things.  Cannot  drunken- 
ness be  justified  out  of  the  Old  Testament;  the  very, 
Solomon  advising  the  poor  man  to  drown  his  sorrow 
in  wine?     Jeremiah  curses  the  man  that  will  not  fight,* 

*  Proverbs  XXXI.  6,  et  seq.    Jer.  XLVIII.  10 


840         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Is  not  Sarah  commended  by  the  fathers  of  the  church, 
and  Abraham  by  the  sons?  Men  justify  slavery  out 
of  the  New  Testament,  because  Paul  had  not  his  eye 
open  to  the  evil,  but  sent  back  a  fugitive !  It  is  dan- 
gerous to  rely  on  a  troubled  fountain  for  the  water  of 
life. 

The  good  influence  of  the  Bible,  past  and  present,  as 
of  all  rehgious  books,  rests  on  its  religious  significance. 
Its  truths  not  only  sustain  themselves,  but  the  mass  of 
errors  connected  therewith.  Truth  can  never  pass 
away.  Men  sometimes  fear  the  Bible  will  be  destroyed 
by  freedom  of  thought  and  freedom  of  speech.  Let  it 
perish  if  such  be  the  case.  Truth  cannot  fear  the 
light,  nor  are  men  so  mad  as  to  forsake  a  well  of 
living  water.  All  the  free  thinking  in  the  world  could 
not  destroy  the  Iliad;  how  much  less  the  truths  of  the 
Bible.  Things  at  last  will  pass  for  their  true  value. 
The  truths  of  the  Bible,  which  have  fed  and  comforted 
the  noblest  souls  for  so  many  centuries,  may  be  trusted 
to  last  our  day.  The  Bible  has  already  endured  the 
greatest  abuse  at  the  hands  of  its  friends,  who  make 
it  an  idol,  and  would  have  all  men  do  it  homage.  We 
need  call  none  our  master  but  the  Father  of  All.  Yet 
the  Bible,  if  wisely  used,  is  still  a  blessed  teacher. 
Spite  of  the  superstition  and  folly  of  its  worshippers, 
it  has  helped  millions  to  that  fountain  where  Moses 
and  Jesus,  with  the  holy-hearted  of  all  time,  have 
stooped  and  been  filled.  We  see  the  mistakes  of  its 
writers,  for  though  noble  and  of  great  stature,  they 
saw  not  all  things.  We  reject  their  follies;  but  their 
words  of  truth  are  still  before  us,  to  admonish,  to  en- 
courage, and  to  bless.  From  time  to  time  God  raises 
up  a  prophet  to  lead  mankind.  He  speaks  his  word 
as  it  is  given  him;  serves  his  generation  for  the  time. 


THE  BIBLE  341 

and  falls  at  last,  when  it  is  expedient  he  should  give 
way  to  the  next  comforter  whom  God  shall  send.  But 
mankind  is  greater  than  a  man,  and  never  dies.  The 
experience  of  the  past  lives  in  the  present.  The  light 
that  shone  at  Nineveh,  Egypt,  Judea,  Athens,  Rome, 
shines  no  more  from  those  points;  it  is  everywhere. 
Can  truth  decease,  and  a  good  idea  once  made  real 
ever  perish?  Mankind,  moving  solemnly  on  its  ap- 
pointed road,  from  age  to  age,  passes  by  its  imperfect 
teachers,  guided  by  their  light,  blessed  by  their  toil, 
and  sprinkled  with  their  blood.  But  truth,  like  her 
God,  is  before  and  above  us  forever.  So  we  pass  by 
the  lamps  of  the  street,  with  wonder  at  their  light, 
though  but  a  smoky  glare ;  they  seem  to  change  places 
and  burn  dim  in  the  distance  as  we  go  on;  at  last  the 
solid  walls  of  darkness  shut  them  in.  But  high  over 
our  head  are  the  unsullied  stars,  which  never  change 
their  place,  nor  dim  their  eye.  So  the  truths  of  the 
scriptures  will  teach  forever,  though  the  record  perish 
and  its  authors  be  forgot.  They  came  from  God, 
through  the  soul  of  man.  They  have  exhausted  neithei? 
God  nor  the  soul.  Man  is  greater  than  the  Bible. 
That  is  one  ray  out  of  the  sun ;  one  drop  from  the  in- 
finite ocean.  The  inward  Christ,  which  alone  abideth 
forever,  has  much  to  say  which  the  Bible  never  told, 
much  which  the  historical  Jesus  never  knew.  The 
Bible  is  made  for  man,  not  man  for  the  Bible.  Its 
truths  are  old  as  the  creation,  repeated  more  or  less 
purely  in  every  tongue.  Let  its  errors  and  absurdities 
no  longer  be  forced  on  the  pious  mind,  but  perish  ;for- 
ever;  let  the  word  of  God  come  through  conscience, 
reason,  and  holy  feeling,  as  light  through  the  windows 
of  morning.  Worship  with  no  master  but  God,  no 
creed  but  truth,  no  service  but  love,  and  we  have 
nothing  to  fear. 


BOOKV 


"When  the  church,  without  temporal  support,  is  able  to  do 
her  great  works  upon-  the  unforced  obedience  of  man.  It  argues 
a  divinity  about  her.  But  when  she  thinks  to  credit  and  'better 
her  spiritual  efficacy,  and  to  win  herself  respect  and  dread,  by 
strutting  in  the  false  vizard  of  wordly  authority,  it  is  evident 
that  God  is  not  there,  but  that  her  apostolic  virtue  is  departed 
from  her,  and  hath  left  her  key-cold;  which  she  perceiving,  as 
in  a  decayed  nature,  seeks  to  the  outward  fomentations  and 
chafings  of  worldly  help,  and  external  flourishes,  to  fetch,  if  it 
be  possible,  some  motion  into  her  extreme  parts,  or  to  hatch  a 
counterfeit  life  with  the  crafty  and  artificial  heat  of  jurisdic- 
tion. But  it  is  observable,  that  so  long  as  the  church,  in  true 
imitation  of  Christ,  can  be  content  to  ride  upon  an  ass,  carry- 
ing herself  and  her  government  along  in  a  mean  and  simple 
guise,  she  may  be,  as  he  is,  a  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah;  and 
in  her  humility  all  men,  with  loud  hosannas,  will  confess  her 
greatness.  But  when,  despising  the  mighty  operation  of  the 
Spirit  by  the  weak  things  of  this  world,  she  thinks  to  make 
herself  bigger  and  more  considerable  by  using  the  way  of 
civil  force  and  jurisdiction,  as  she  sits  upon  this  lion,  she 
changes  into  an  ass,  and  instead  of  hosannas,  every  man  pelts 
her  with  stones  and  dirt." —  Milton. —  The  Meason  of  Church 
Oovernment  urged  against  Prelaty,  Bk.  II.,  Chap.  III. 


344 


BOOK  V 

THE  RELATION  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  ELE- 
MENT TO  THE  GREATEST  OF  HUMAN 
INSTITUTIONS,  OR  A  DISCOURSE  OF  THE 
CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  I 

CLAIMS   OF   THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH 

The  Catholic  church,  and  most  if  not  all  the  minor 
Protestant  churches,  claim  superiority  over  reajson, 
conscience,  and  the  religious  element  in  the  individual 
soul,  assuming  dominion  over  these,  as  the  State  justly 
assumes  authority  over  the  excessive  passions  and  sel- 
fishness of  men.  Now  since  the  former  are  not,  like  the 
latter,  evils  in  themselves,  the  church,  to  justify  itself, 
must  denounce  them  either  as  emanations  from  the 
devil,  or  at  best  as  uncertain  and  dangerous  guides. 
The  churches  make  this  claim  of  superiority,  either 
distinctly  in  their  creeds  and  formularies  of  faith, 
claiming  a  divine  origin  for  themselves,  or  by  implica- 
tion, in  their  actions,  when  they  condemn  and  blast  with 
curses  one  who  differs  from  them  in  religious  matters, 
and  teaches  doctrines  they  disapprove.  In  virtue  of 
this  assumed  superiority  the  Christian  church,  as  a 
whole,  denies  what  it  calls  "  salvation  "  to  all  out  of 
the  Christian  church  —  excepting  some  of  the  Jews 
before  Christ —  though  their  life  be  divine  as  an 
angel's.  How  often  have  Socrates  and  that  long  line 
of  noble  men  who  do  honor  to  Greek  and  Roman  an- 

345 


346  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

tiquity  been  dammed  by  hirelings  of  the  church?  The 
Catholic  church  denies  salvation  to  all  out  of  its  pale, 
and  in  general  each  church  of  the  straiter  and  more 
numerous  sects  confirms  the  damnation  of  all  who 
think  more  liberally.  Men  who  expose  to  scorn  the 
folly  of  their  assumptions,  the  Bayles,  the  Humes,  the 
Voltaires;  men  who  will  not  accept  their  pretensions, 
the  Newtons,  the  Lockes,  the  Priestleys,  the  Channings 
have  their  warrant  of  eternal  damnation  made  out  and 
sealed;  not  because  their  life  was  bad,  but  their  faith 
not  orthodox !  Supported  by  this  claim  of  superiority 
on  the  churches'  part,  canonized  ignorance  may  blast 
learning ;  ecclesiastical  dullness  condemn  secular  genius ; 
and  surpliced  impiety,  with  shameless  forehead,  may 
damn  religion,  meek  and  thoughtful,  who  out  of  the 
narrow  church,  walks  with  beautiful  feet  on  the  rug- 
ged path  of  mortal  life,  and  makes  real  the  kingdom 
of  heaven. 

For  many  centuries  it  has  been  a  heresy  in  the  Chris- 
tian churches  to  believe  that  any  man  out  of  their  walls, 
could  expect  less  than  damnation  in  the  next  world; 
it  is  still  a  heresy.  It  is  taught  with  great  plainness 
by  the  majority  of  Christians,  that  God  will  damn  to 
eternal  torments  the  majority  of  his  children,  because 
they  are  not  in  any  of  the  Christian  churches.*  If  we 
look  into  the  value  of  this  claim  of  superiority,  we  shall 
find  the  foundation  on  which  it  rests.  It  must  be  either 
in  the  idea  of  a  church,  or  in  the  fact  of  the  Christian 

•For  the  opinion  of  the  Catholics  on  this  point,  see  instar 
omnium  Bossuet,  Hist,  des  Variations,  Liv.  II.  et  al.;  for  that 
of  the  Protestants,  see  their  various  confessions,  etc.,  conveni- 
ently collected  in  Niemeyer,  Collectio  Confessionum  in  Ecclesiis 
reformatis;  Lips.  1840.  Hahn,  ubi  sup.  §  103  and  143.  Bret- 
schneider,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  §  204,  p.  174,  et  seq.  But  see  Hase^ 
Hutterus  redivivus,  §  88. 


THE.  CHURCH  347 

church  receiving  this  delegated  power  from  a  human  or 
a  divine  founder. 

I.  Of  the  idea  of  a  Church, 
We  do  not  speak,  except  figuratively,  of  a  church  of 
Moses  or  Mahomet.  It  seems  to  be  necessary,  to  the 
idea  of  a  visible  and  historical  church,  that  there  should 
be  a  model-man  for  its  central  figure,  around  whom 
others  are  to  be  grouped.  He  must  be  an  example  of 
the  virtues  religion  demands;  an  incarnation  of  God, 
to  adopt  the  phrase  of  ancient  India,  which  has  since 
become  so  prevalent  among  the  Christians.  Now 
Moses,  viewed  as  a  mythological  character,  and  Ma- 
homet, as  an  historical  person,  were  not  model-men,  but 
miraculous  characters  whose  relation  to  God  and  per- 
fection of  life  each  faithful  soul  might  not  share,  for  it 
was  peculiar  to  themselves.  Their  character  was  not 
their  own  work.  It  was  made  for  them  by  God,  and 
therefore  they  could  not  be  objects  of  imitation.  It 
would  be  impious  madness  in  the  Mussulman  or  the 
Jew,  to  aim  at  the  perfections  of  the  great  prophet  who 
stood  above  him. 

Now  there  is  this  peculiarity  of  the  greater  part  of 
Christians,  that  while  they  affirm  Jesus  to  be  God,  by 
the  divine  side,  they  yet  claim  him  as  a  model-man,  on 
the  human  side,  and  so  call  him  a  God-man.*  About 
this  central  figure,  the  Christian  church  is  grouped. 
The  fourth  gospel  represents  him  as  the  way,  the 
truth,  and  the  life,  for  all  men.  The  churches  also 
assume  that  he  is  to  be  imitated.     But  they  assume 

*  This  term  God-man,  is  of  heathen  origin,  and  involves  a 
contradiction  as  much  as  the  term  Circle-triangle.  The  com- 
mon mistake  seems  to  arise  from  taking  a  figure  of  speech 
for  a  matter-of-fact,  which  leads  to  worse  confusion  in  theology 
than  it  would  in  geometry. 


348  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

this  in  defiance  of  logic,  for  Jesus  is  represented  as 
bom  miraculously,  endowed  with  miraculous  powers, 
and  separated  from  all  others  by  his  peculiar  relation  to 
God,  in  short,  as  a  God-man.  Of  course  he  must  be  a 
model  only  to  other  God-men,  who  are  born  miracu- 
lously, endowed  and  defended  as  he  was;  he  is  no 
model  to  men  bom  of  flesh  and  blood,  who  have  none 
but  human  powers.  But  he  is  the  only  God-man,  and 
so  no  model  to  any  one.  Still  more  of  the  Christian 
churches  view  him  as  the  infinite  God  with  all  his 
infinity ;  dwelling  in  the  flesh,  it  is  absurd  to  make  him 
a  model  for  men.  But  the  churches  have  rarely  stopped 
at  an  absurdity.  They  "  call  things  that  are  not  as  if 
they  were."  Yet  since  the  life  of  Jesus  appears  so  en- 
tirely human  in  his  friendships,  sorrows,  love,  prayer, 
temptation,  triumph,  and  death,  and  the  apostles  now 
and  then  represent  him  as  the  great  example  —  the 
churches  could  not  forbear  making  him  the  model-man. 
Hence  the  homilies  of  the  preacher;  the  disquisition 
of  the  schoolmen ;  the  glorifying  treatise  of  the  mystic ; 
the  painting  of  the  artist,  giving  us  his  triumph,  trans- 
figuration, farewell  meeting,  and  crucifixion  —  all  aim 
to  bring  the  great  exemplar  distinctly,  before  human 
consciousness,  in  the  most  prominent  scenes  of  his 
life,  and  always  as  a  man,  that  the  lesson  of  divinity 
might  not  be  lost. 

Now  if  he  be  this  model-man,  and  the  churches  are 
but  assemblies  of  men  and  women  grouped  about  him, 
to  be  instructed  by  his  words  and  warned  by  his  ex- 
ample, it  is  not  easy  to  see  what  authority  they  nat- 
urally have  over  the  individual  soul. 

II.     Of  the  Fact  of  the  Christian  Churches. 
If  Jesus  were  but  a  wise  and  good  man,  no  word  of 
his  could  have  authority  over  reason  and  conscience. 


THE  CHURCH  349 

At  best,  it  could  repeat  their  oracles,  and  therefore  he 
could  never  found  an  institution  which  should  be  mas- 
ter of  the  soul.  But  even  if  he  were  what  the  churches 
pretend,  it  does  not  appear  that  he  has  given  this  au- 
thority to  any  on  earth.  If  we  may  credit  the  gospels, 
Jesus  established  no  organization;  founded  no  church 
in  any  common  sense  of  that  term.  He  taught  wher- 
ever men  would  listen;  to  numbers  in  the  synagogue, 
temple,  and  fields;  to  a  few  in  the  little  cottage  at 
Bethany,  and  in  the  fisher's  boat.  He  gave  no  in- 
struction to  his  disciples  to  found  a  church;  he  sent 
them  forth  to  preach  the  glad  tidings  to  all  mankind: 
the  spirit  within  was  their  calling  and  authority ;  Jesus 
their  example;  God  their  guide,  protector,  and  head. 
In  all  the  ministrations  of  Jesus,  there  is  nothing  which 
approaches  the  formation  of  a  church.  What  was 
freely  received  was  to  be  given  as  freely.  Baptism  and 
the  Supper  were  accidents.  He  appointed  no  particu- 
lar body  of  men  as  teachers,  but  sent  forth  his  disciples 
all  of  them,  to  proclaim  the  truth.  The  twelve  had  no 
actual  authority  over  others ;  no  preeminence  in  spread- 
ing the  gospel.  Had  they  a  right  to  bind  and  to  loose  .f* 
Let  Paul  answer  the  question.*  The  first  martyr, 
the  most  active  evangelist,  and  the  greatest  apostle 
were  not  of  the  twelve.  Excepting  Peter,  James,  and 
John,  the  rest  did  little  that  we  know  of  .f  Did  Jesus 
say  —  as  Matthew  relates  —  that  he  would  found  a 
church  on  Simon  Peter?  It  must  have  been  a  sandy 
foundation.}     Paul  did  not  fear  to  withstand  him  to 

*  Galat.  I.  II.  et  al.  Strauss,  ch.  V.  Schwegler,  Nachapost. 
Zeitalter;  Tub.  1846,  Vol.  I.  p.  114,  et  seq.  Baur,  Paulus  der 
Apostel;  Stuttgart,  1846,  p.  104,  et  seq. 

tSee  in  Gieseler,  Text-Book  of  Eccles.  Hist.;  Philad.  1836. 
Vol.  I.  §  25-27. 

t  Math.  XVI.  18,  19.  See  the  various  opinions  of  interpreters 
of  this  passage  so  improperly  thrust  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus,  in 


350  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

the  face.  Jesus  appointed  neither  place  nor  day  for 
worship.  All  the  commands  of  the  decalogue  are  re- 
inforced in  the  New  Testament,  excepting  that  which 
enjoins  the  Sabbath;  all  the  rest  are  natural  laws. 
Religion  with  Jesus  was  a  worship  in  spirit  and  in 
truth;  a  service  at  all  times  and  in  every  place.  He 
fell  back  on  natural  religion  and  morality,  demanding 
a  divine  life,  purity  without  and  piety  within;  but  he 
left  the  when,  the  where  and  the  how  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  A  church,  in  our  sense  of  the  term,  is  not 
so  much  as  named  in  the  gospels.  But  religion,  above 
all  emotions,  brings  men  together.  Uniting  around 
this  central  figure,  bound  by  the  strongest  of  ties,  the 
spiritual  sympathies  fired  with  admiration  for  the  great 
soul  of  Jesus,  relying  on  his  authority,  there  grew  up, 
unavoidably,  a  body  of  men  and  women.  These  the 
apostles  call  the  Church  of  Christ.  Religion  as  it 
descends  into  practice,  takes  a  concrete  form,  which 
depends  on  the  character  and  condition  of  the  men 
who  receive  it:  hence  come  the  rites,  dogmas,  and  cere- 
monies which  mark  the  church  of  this  or  that  age  and 
nation. 

The  Christian  church  may  be  defined  as  a  body  of 
men  and  women  united  in  a  common  regard  for  Jesus, 
assembling  for  the  purposes  of  worship  and  religious 
instruction.  It  has  the  powers  delegated  by  individu- 
als who  compose  it.* 

pe  Wette,  Exegetische  Handbuch  zur  N.  T.  See  Origen*s 
ingfenious  gloss. 

*  See  the  various  opinions  of  the  Catholics  and  Protestants  on 
this  point  collected  in  Winer,  Comparativ  Darstellung  der 
Lehrbegriffs;  Leip.  1837,  §  19,  on  the  formation  of  the  church. 
See  much  valuable  matter  in  Ritschl,  Die  Entstehung  der 
Altkatholischen  Kirche;  Bonn,  1850.    Buch,  II. 


CHAPTER  II    - 

THE  GRADUAL  FORMATION  OF  THE  CHRIS- 
TIAN CHURCH 

In  the  earliest  times  of  Christianity  there  were  no 
regular  systems  of  doctrine,  to  bind  men  together. 
The  truths  of  natural  religion,  the  special  forms  of 
Judaism,  and  a  somewhat  indefinite  belief  in  Jesus, 
were  the  cardinal  points  and  essentials  of  Christianity. 
The  public  religious  service  seems  perfectly  free. 
Where  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  was,  there  was  liberty. 
No  one  controlled  another's  freedom.  The  much 
vaunted  "  form  of  sound  words  "  was  notoriously  dif- 
ferent with  different  teachers.  Paul,  who  came  late 
to  Christianity,  boasts  that  he  received  his  doctrine 
straightway  from  God,  not  from  those  "  who  were 
apostles  before  him,"  whom  he  seems  to  hold  in  small 
esteem.  The  decision  of  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  even 
if  it  ever  took  place,  did  not  bind  him.  The  practical 
side  of  Christianity  was  developed  more  than  the  the- 
oretical. The  effect  of  the  truth  proclaimed  with  free- 
dom, was  soon  manifest;  for  the  errors  and  super- 
stition still  clinging  to  the  mind  of  the  apostles  could 
not  chain  mankind.  Love  increased ;  Christianity  bore 
fruit;  the  church  spread  wide  its  arms.  It  emanci- 
pated men  from  the  yokes  of  the  ancient  sacerdotal 
class;  but  there  was  a  fierce  struggle  in  the  new  con- 
gregations before  the  Jewish  forms  could  be  given 
up.  The  Christians  were  "  a  royal  priesthood ;"  all 
were  "  kings  and  priests,"  appointed  to  off^er  a  "  spir- 
itual  sacrifice."     The   apostles   who  had   seen  Jesus, 

351 


352         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

or  understood  his  doctrine,  naturally  took  the  lead  of 
men  they  sought  to  instruct.  As  the  number  of 
Christians  enlarged,  some  organization  was  needed  for 
practical  purposes.  The  pattern  was  taken  from  the 
Jewish  synagogue,  which  claimed  no  divine  authority; 
not  from  the  temple,  whose  officers  made  such  a  claim. 
Hence  there  were  elders  and  deacons.  One  of  the 
elders  was  an  overseer,  like  the  "  speaker  "  in  a  legisla- 
tive assembly.  But  all  these  were  chosen  by  the  people, 
and  as  much  of  the  people  after  their  choice  as  before. 
There  was  no  clergy  and  no  laity ;  all  were  sons  of  God, 
recipients  of  inspiration  from  Him.  The  Holy  Ghost 
fell  upon  all,  the  same  in  kind,  only  divine  in  degree 
and  mode  of  manifestation.  The  wish  of  Moses  was 
complied  with,  and  God  put  his  spirit  upon  each  of 
them;  the  prediction  of  Joel  was  fulfilled,  and  their 
sons  and  their  daughters  prophesied ;  the  word  of  Jere- 
miah had  come  to  pass,  and  God  put  his  law  in  their 
inward  parts,  and  wrote  it  on  their  heart,  and  they  all 
knew  the  Lord  from  the  least  to  the  greatest.  They, 
were  "  anointed  of  God,"  and  "  knew  all  things ;"  they 
"  needed  not  that  any  man  should  teach  them."  Christ 
and  God  were  in  all  holy  hearts.  The  overseer,  or 
bishop,  claimed  no  power  over  the  people ;  he  was  only 
first  among  his  peers;  the  greatest  only  because  the 
servant  of  all.  Even  Apollos,  Cephas,  Paul,  who  were 
they  but  servants,  through  whom  others  believed.? 
The  bishop  had  no  authority  to  bind  and  loose  in 
heaven  or  earth ;  no  right  to  enforce  a  doctrine.  He 
was  not  the  standard  of  faith ;  that  was  "  the  mind  of 
the  Lord,"  which  He  would  reveal  to  all  who  sought 
it.  There  was  no  monopoly  of  teaching  on  the  part  of 
the  elders.  A  bishop,  says  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to 
Timothy,  "  must  be  able  to  teach,"  not  the  only  teacher. 


THE  CHURCH  353 

not  necessarily  a  preacher  at  all ;  but  a  minister  of 
silence  as  well  as  speech.  Inspiration  was  free  to  all 
men.  "  Quench  not  the  spirit ;"  "  prove  all  things ;" 
"  hold  fast  what  is  good ;"  "  covet  earnestly  the  best 
gifts," — these  were  the  watchwords.  Under  feti- 
chism,  all  could  consult  their  god,  and  be  inspired; 
miracles  took  place  continually.  Under  polytheism 
only  a  few  could  come  to  God  at  first  hand ;  they  alone 
were  inspired,  and  miracles  were  rare.  Under  Chris- 
tian monotheism,  God  dwelt  in  all  faithful  hearts ;  old 
covenants  and  priesthoods  were  done  away,  and  so  all 
were  inspired.* 

The  New  Testament  was  not  written,  and  the  Old 
Testament  was  but  the  shadow  of  good  things  to  come, 
and  since  they  had  come,  the  children  of  the  free 
woman  were  not  to  sit  in  the  shadow,  but  to  stand  fast 
in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  had  made  them  free. 
Man,  the  heir  of  all  things,  long  time  kept  under  task- 
masters and  governors,  had  now  come  of  age  and  taken 
possession  of  his  birthright.  The  decision  of  a  ma- 
jority of  delegates  assembled  in  a  council,  bound  only 
themselves. 

Then  the  body  of  men  and  women  worshipping  in 
any  one  place  was  subject  neither  to  its  own  oflScers, 

*On  the  state  of  the  early  church,  and  the  bishops,  elders, 
and  deacons,  which  is  still  a  matter  of  controversy,  see  Camp- 
bell, Lectures  on  Ecc.  History,  Lee.  I -XIII.  Gieseler,  ubi  sup. 
§  29.  Mosheim,  ubi  sup.  Book  I.  Art.  II.  Chap.  II.  Neander, 
AUg.  Geschichte  der  Christlichen  Religion,  Hamb.  1835,  Vol.  I. 
Part  I.  Chap.  II.  Gibbon,  Chap.  XV.  Schleiermacher,  Geschichte 
der  Christlichen  Kirche;  Berlin,  1840,  p.  86,  et  seq.  Among  the 
modern  writers  Milman  takes  the  other  side.  History  of  Chris- 
tianity; Lond.  1840,  Book  II.  Chap.  II.  p.  63,  et  seq.  See  the 
recent  works  of  Gfrorer,  Hase,  Schwegler,  Baur,  Schliemann, 
Ritschl,  Staudenmaier,  Rothensee,  Hilgenfeld,  etc., —  Stanley 
and  Jowett  and  Martineau. 
Ill— 23 


S54         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

nor  to  the  church  at  large;  nor  to  the  scriptures  of  the 
Old  or  the  New  Testament.  No  man  on  earth,  no 
organization,  no  book  was  master  of  the  soul.  Each 
church  made  out  its  canon  of  scripture  as  well  as  it 
could.*  Some  of  our  canonical  writings  were  excluded, 
and  apocryphal  writings  used  in  their  stead.  Indeed, 
respecting  this  matter  of  scripture,  there  has  never 
been  a  uniform  canon  among  all  Christians.  The 
Bible  of  the  Latin  differs  from  that  of  the  Greek 
church,  and  contains  thirteen  books  the  more.  The 
Catholic  differs  from  the  Protestant;  the  early  Syrians 
from  their  contemporaries;  the  Abyssinians  from  all 
other  churches,  it  seems.  Ebionites  would  not  receive 
the  beginning  of  Matthew  and  Luke;  the  Marcionites 
had  a  gospel  of  their  own.  The  Socinians,  and  per- 
haps others,  left  off  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,f 
or  counted  it  unnecessary.  The  followers  of  Sweden- 
borg  do  not  find  a  spiritual  sense  in  all  the  books  of 
the  canon.  Critics  yearly  make  inroads  upon  the 
canon,  striking  out  whole  books  or  obnoxious  passages, 
as  not  genuine.  In  the  first  ages  of  Christianity,  the 
Bible  was  a  subordinate  thing.  In  modem  times  it 
has  been  made  a  vehicle  to  carry  any  doctrine  the  ex- 
positor sees  fit  to  interpret  into  it.J  The  first  preach- 
ers of  Christianity  fell  back  on  the  authority  of  Jesus ; 
appealed  to  the  moral  sense  of  mankind;  applied  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity  to  life  as  well  as  they  could, 
and  with  much  zeal,  and  some  superstition  and  many 

*  See  in  Eusebius,  H.  E.  III.  39,  the  use  that  Papias  makes 
of  Tradition;  he  stood  on  the  debatable  ground  between  the 
Bible  and  tradition,  and  continued  to  mythologize.  Ewald, 
JahrbUcher  for  1854,  Ch.  XXXIII. 

t  See  Faustus  Socinus,  ubi  sup.  p.  271,  et  al. 

J  See,  on  this  point,  some  ingenious  remarks  of  Hegel,  Phil- 
osophic der  Religion,  Vol.  I,  p.  29,  et  seq. 


THE  CHURCH  S55 

mistakes,  developed  the  practical  side  of  Christianity 
much  more  than  its  theoretical  side. 

But  even  in  the  Apostles,  Christianity  had  lost  some- 
what of  its  simplicity,  much  of  the  practical  character 
which  marks  the  teaching  of  Jesus  in  the  synoptics. 
The  doctrine  of  Paul  was  far  removed  from  the  doctrine 
of  Jesus.  It  was  not  plain  religion  and  morality  com- 
ing from  the  absolute  source,  and  proceeding  by  the 
absolute  method  to  the  absolute  end.  It  is  taught  on 
the  "  authority  of  Christ."  The  Jews  must  believe  he 
was  the  Messiah  of  the  prophets.  "  Salvation "  is 
connected  with  a  belief  in  his  person.  "  Neither  is 
there  salvation  by  any  other,"  says  the  author  who 
takes  the  name  of  Peter ;  the  fourth  gospel  makes  Jesus 
declare,  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the  father  but  by  me," 
"  all  that  ever  came  before  me  are  thieves  and  robbers." 
The  Jewish  doctrine  of  "  redemption  "  and  reconcili- 
ation by  sacrifice  appears  more  or  less  in  the  genuine 
works  of  the  apostles,  and  very  clearly  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews.  We  may  explain  some  of  the  ob- 
noxious passages  as  "  figures  of  speech,"  referring  to 
the  "  Christ  born  in  us ;"  but  a  fair  interpretation 
leaves  it  pretty  certain  the  writers  added  somewhat  to 
the  simpler  form  of  Jesus,  though  they  might  not 
share  the  gross  doctrines  since  often  taught  in  their 
name.  Christ  is  in  some  measure  a  mythological  be- 
ing even  with  Paul, —  he  was  with  the  Jews  in  the 
desert,  and  assisted  at  the  creation.  The  Jesus  of 
history  fades  out  and  the  Christ  of  fiction  takes  his 
place.  The  Pharisaic  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  body  appears  undeniably;  a  local  heaven  and  a 
day  of  judgment,  in  which  Jesus  is  to  appear  in  per- 
son and  judge  the  world,  are  very  clearly  taught.  The 
fourth  gospel  speaks  of  Jesus  as  he  never  speaks  of 


866         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

himself;  the  Platonic  doctrine  of  the  Logos  appears 
therein.  We  may  separate  the  apostolic  doctrine  into 
three  classes:  The  Judaizing,  the  Alexandrine,  and 
the  Pauline,  each  differing  more  or  less  essentially  from 
the  simple  mode  of  religion  of  the  Synoptics  * 
Already  with  the  Apostles  Jesus  has  become  in  part 
defied,  his  personality  confounded  with  the  infinite 
God.f  Was  it  not  because  of  the  very  vastness  and 
beauty  of  soul  that  was  in  him?  The  private  and 
peculiar  doctrines  of  the  early  Christians  appear  in 
strange  contrast  with  the  gentle  precepts  of  love  to 
man  and  God,  in  which  Jesus  sums  up  the  essentials 
of  religion.  But,  alas,  what  is  arbitrary  and  peculiar 
in  each  form  of  worship,  is  of  little  value;  the  best 
things  are  the  commonest,  for  no  man  can  lay  a  new 
foundation,  nor  add  to  the  old,  more  than  the  wood, 
hay  and  stubble  of  his  own  folly.  The  great  excel- 
lence of  Jesus  was  in  restoring  natural  religion  and 
morality  to  their  true  place;  an  excellence  which  even 
the  apostles  but  poorly  understood. J 

In  their  successors  Christianity  was  a  very  different 
thing,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  —  alas  a  very 
few  —  it  appeared  in  the  mass  of  the  churches,  an  idle 
mummery ;  a  collection  of  forms  and  superstitious  rites. 

•The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  and  the  earlier  Apocryphal 
Gospels  and  Epistles  are  valuable  monuments  of  the  opinions  of 
the  Christians  at  the  time  they  were  written.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that  circumcision  was  rigidly  enforced  by  the  bishops  in 
the  church  at  Jerusalem  for  more  than  a  century  after  the 
death  of  Christ;  many  of  the  laity  also  were  circumcised. 
Sulpitius  Severus,  Lib.  II. 

tSee  Dorner  and  Baur;  also  Mass.  Quarterly  Review,  Vol. 
III.  Art.  v.,  on  the  Christologies  of  N.  T. 

t  See  the  impartial  remarks  of  Schlosser,  respecting  the  origin 
and  subsequent  fate  of  Christianity,  in  his  Geschichte  der  alten 
Wdt,  VoL  III.  Pt.  I.  p.  249-274,  ]Pt.  II.  p.  110-129,  381-416. 


THE  CHURCH  36T 

Heathenism  and  Judaism,  with  all  sorts  of  superstitious 
absurdities  in  their  train,  came  into  the  church.  The 
first  fifteen  bishops  of  Jerusalem  clung  to  the  most 
obnoxious  feature  of  Judaism.  Christianity  was  the 
stalking-horse  of  ambition.  A  man  stepped  at  once 
from  the  camp  to  the  bishop's  mitre,  and  brought  only 
the  piety  of  the  Roman  legion  into  the  church.  The 
doctrine  of  many  a  Christian  writer  was  less  pure  and 
beautiful  than  the  faith  of  Seneca  and  Cicero,  not  to 
name  Zoroaster,  Pythagoras  and  Socrates.  After  less 
than  a  century  there  was  a  distinction  between  clergy 
and  laity.  The  former  ere  long  became  "  Lords  over 
God's  heritage,"  not  "  ensamples  unto  the  flock." 
They  were  masters  of  the  doctrine;  could  bind  and 
loose  on  earth  and  in  heaven.  The  majority  in  a  coun- 
cil bound  the  minority,  and  the  voices  of  the  clergy 
determined  what  was  "  the  mind  of  the  Lord."  Thus 
the  clergy  became  the  church,  and  were  set  above  reason 
and  conscience  in  the  individual  man.  They  were 
chosen  by  themselves,  and  responsible  to  none  on  earth. 
Private  inspiration  was  reckoned  dangerous.  Freedom 
of  conscience  was  forbidden ;  he  who  denied  the  popular 
faith  was  accursed.  The  organization  of  the  church 
was  then  copied  from  the  Jewish  temple,  not  the  syna- 
gogue. The  minister  was  a  priest,  and  stood  between 
God  and  the  people;  the  bishop,  an  high-priest  after 
the  order  of  Aaron,  his  kingdom  of  this  world.  He 
was  the  "  Successor  of  the  Apostles  " ;  the  Vicegerent 
of  Christ.  Men  came  to  the  clerical  office  with  no 
religious  qualification.*  Baptism  atoned  for  all  sins, 
and  was  sometimes  put  off  till  the  last  hour,  that  the 
Christian  might  give  full  swing  to  the  flesh,  and  float 

*The  histories   of  Synesius  and  Ambrose   afford   a   striking 
picture  of  the  clerical  class  in  their  time. 


358         A  i:)ISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

into  heaven  at  last  on  the  lustral  waters  of  baptism. 
Bits  of  bread  from  the  "  Lord's  table,"  were  a  talisman 
to  preserve  the  faithful  from  all  dangers  by  sea  and 
land.  Prajers  were  put  up  for  the  dead ;  the  cross  was 
worshipped ;  the  bones  of  the  martyrs  could  work  mir- 
acles, cast  out  devils,  calm^a  tempest,  and  even  raise 
the  dead.  The  eucharist  was  forced  into  the  mouths 
of  children  before  they  could  say  "  my  father,  and 
my  mother."  The  sign  of  the  cross  and  the  "  sacred 
oil "  were  powerful  as  Canidia's  spell.  In  point  of 
toleration  the  Christians  went  backward  for  a  time, 
far  behind  the  Athenians  and  men  of  Rome.*  The 
clergy  assumed  power  over  conscience;  power  to  admit 
to  heaven,  or  condemn  to  hell;  and  not  only  decided 
in  matters  of  mummery,  whereof  they  made  "  divine 
service  "  to  consist,  but  decreed  what  men  should  be- 
lieve in  order  to  obtain  eternal  life;  an  office  the  sub- 
limest  of  all  the  sons  of  men,  modest  because  he  was 
great,  never  took  upon  himself.  They  collected  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament,  and  decided  what 
should  be  the  "  Standard  of  Faith,"  and  what  not. 
But  their  canon  was  arbitrary,  including  some  spurious 
books  of  small  value,  and  rejecting  others  more  edify- 
ing. However,  they  allowed  some  latitude  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  works  they  had  canonized.  But  next 
they  went  further,  and  developed  systematically  the 
doctrines  of  the  scripture,  on  points  deemed  the  most 
important,  such  as  the  "  nature  of  God  "  and  Christ. 
Thus  the  "mind  of  the  Lord"  was  determined  and 
laid  down,  so  that  he  might  read  that  ran.  The 
mysticism  of  Plato,  and  the  dialectic  subtleties  of  the 
Stagirite  afforded  matter  for  the  pulpit  and  councils 
to  discuss. 

*See  the  writings   of   Tertullian   and   Cyprian,   passim,   for 
proofs  of  what  is  said  above. 


THE  CHURCH  359 

This  method  of  deciding  dark  questions  by  plurality 
of  votes  has  always  been  popular  in  Christendom.  In 
some  things  the  majority  are  always  right;  in  some 
always  wrong.  The  four  hundred  prophets  of  Baal 
have  a  "  lying  spirit  "  in  them ;  Micaiah  alone  is  in  the 
right.  The  college  of  Padua,  and  the  Sorbonne  would 
have  voted  down  Galileo  and  Newton,  a  hundred  to 
one;  but  what  then?  Majority  of  voices  proves  little 
in  morals  or  mathematics.  A  single  man  in  Jerusalem 
on  a  certain  time  had  more  moral  and  religious  truth 
than  Herod  and  the  Sanhedrim.  Synods  of  Dort  and 
assembhes  of  divines  settle  nothing  but  their  own 
opinions,  which  will  be  reversed  the  next  century,  or 
stand,  as  now,  a  snare  to  the  conscience  of  pious  men. 

In  the  early  times  of  Christianity,  the  teachers  in 
general  were  men  of  little  learning,  imbued  with  the 
prejudices  and  vain  philosophies  of  the  times ;  men 
with  passions,  some  of  them  quite  untamed,  notwith- 
standing their  pious  zeal.  In  the  first  century  no 
eminent  man  is  reckoned  among  the  Christians.  But 
soon  doctrines,  that  played  a  great  part  in  the  heathen 
worship,  and  which  do  not  appear  in  the  teaching  of 
Jesus,  were  imposed  upon  men,  on  pain  of  damnation 
in  two  worlds.  They  are  not  yet  extinct.  Rites  were 
adopted  from  the  same  source.  The  scum  of  idolatry 
covered  the  well  of  living  water.  The  flesh  and  the 
devil  sat  down  at  the  "  Lord's  table  "  in  the  Christian 
church,  and  with  forehead  unabashed,  pushed  away 
the  worthy  bidden  guest.  What  passed  for  Chris- 
tianity in  many  churches  during  the  fourth  and  a 
large  part  of  the  third  century  was  a  vile  superstition. 
The  image  of  Christ  was  marred.  Men  paid  God  in 
Csesar's  pence.    The  shadows  of  great  men,  Pythagoras, 


860         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Socrates,  Plato;  yes,  the  shades  of  humbler  men,  of 
name  unknown  to  fame,  might  have  come  up,  disquieted 
like  Samuel,  from  their  grave,  and  spit  upon  the 
superstition  of  the  Christians  defihng  Persia,  and 
Athens,  and  Rome.  It  deserved  the  mockery  it  met. 
Christianity  was  basely  corrupted  long  before  it  gained 
the  Roman  palace.  Had  it  not  been  depraved,  when 
would  it  have  reached  king's  courts ;  in  the  time  of 
Constantine,  or  of  Louis  XIV  .^^  The  quarrels  of  the 
bishops;  the  contentions  of  the  councils;  the  super- 
stition of  the  laymen  and  the  despotism  and  ambition 
of  the  clergy  in  general;  the  ascetic  doctrine  taught 
as  morality ;  the  monastic  institutions  with  their  plan 
of  a  divine  life,  are  striking  signs  of  the  times,  and 
contrast  wonderfully  with  that  simple  Nazarene  and 
his  lowly  obedience  to  God  and  manly  love  of  his 
brothers. 

Yet  here  and  there  were  men  who  fed  with  faith  and 
works  the  flame  of  piety,  which,  rising  from  their  lowly 
hearth,  streamed  up  towards  heaven,  making  the  shad- 
ows of  superstition  and  of  sin  look  strange  and  mon- 
strous as  they  fell  on  many  a  rood  of  space.  These 
were  the  men  who  saved  the  Sodom  of  the  church. 
Did  Christianity  fail?  The  Christianity  of  Christ  is 
not  one  thing  and  human  nature  another.  It  is  human 
virtue,  human  religion,  man  in  his  highest  moments; 
the  effect  no  less  than  the  cause  of  human  develop- 
ment, and  can  never  fail  till  man  ceases  to  be  man. 
Under  all  this  load  of  superstition  the  heart  of  faith 
still  beat.  How  could  the  world  forget  its  old  in- 
stitutions, riot  and  sin  in  a  moment?  It  is  not  thus 
the  dull  fact  of  the  world's  life  yields  to  the  divine 
idea  of  a  man.  The  rites  of  the  public  worship ;  the 
clerical  class;  the  stress  laid  on  dogmas  and  forms; 


THE  CHURCH  361 

all  this  was  a  tribute  to  the  indolence  and  sensuality 
of  mankind.  The  asceticism,  celibacy,'  mortification  of 
the  body,  contempt  of  the  present  life;  the  hatred  of 
all  innocent  pleasure;  the  scorn  of  literature,  science, 
and  art, —  these  are  the  natural  reaction  of  mankind, 
who  had  been  bid  to  fill  themselves  with  merely  sensual 
delight.  The  lives  of  Mark  Anthony,  Sallust,  Crassus ; 
of  Julius  Ca?sar,  Nero,  and  Domitian  explain  the 
origin  of  asceticism  and  monastic  retirement  better  than 
folios  will  do  it.  The  writings  of  Petronius  Arbiter,  of 
Apuleius  and  Lucian,  render  necessary  the  words  of 
Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Jerome,  and  John  of  Damascus. 
Individuals  might  come  swiftly  out  of  Egyptian  dark- 
ness into  the  light  of  religion,  but  the  world  moves 
slow,  and  oscillates  from  one  extreme  to  the  opposite.* 
For  a  time  the  leaven  of  Christianity  seemed  lost  in 
the  lump  of  human  sin;  but  it  was  doing  its  great 
work  in  ways  not  seen  by  mortal  eyes.  The  most  pro- 
found of  all  revolutions  must  require  centuries  for  its 
work.  The  good  never  dies.  The  persecutions  di- 
rected by  tyrannical  emperors  against  the  new  faith, 
only  helped  the  work.  What  is  written  in  blood  is 
widely  read  and  not  soon  forgot.  Could  the  "  holy 
alliance  "  of  ease,  hypocrisy,  and  sin  put  down  Chris- 
tianity, which  proclaimed  the  one  God,  the  equality 
and  brotherhood  of  all  men?  Did  force  ever  prevail 
in  the  long  run  against  reason  or  religion?  The  ashes 
of  a  Polycarp  and  a  Justin  sow  the  earth  for  a  Cad- 
mean  harvest  of  heroes  of  the  soul ;  a  man  leaving  wife 
and  babes  and  dying  a  martyr's  death  —  this  is  an 
eloquence  the  dullest  can  understand.     If  a  fire  is  to 

*  But  see  how  reluctantly  Synesius  comes  to  the  duties  of  a 
bishop.  Ep.  105,  cited  in  Hampden,  Bampton  Lectures;  Lend. 
1837,  p.  407,  et  seq. 


362  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

spread  in  the  forest  let  all  the  winds  blow  upon  it. 
Even  a  bad  thing  is  not  put  down  by  abuse.  How- 
ever, to  see  the  earnest  of  that  vast  result  Christianity 
is  destined  to  work  out  for  the  nations,  we  must  not 
look  at  king's  courts,  in  Byzantium  or  Paris;  not  in 
the  chairs  of  bishops,  noble  or  selfish ;  not  at  the  mar- 
tyr's firmness  when  his  flesh  is  torn  off,  for  the  un- 
flinching Tuscarora  surpasses  "  the  noble  army  of 
martyrs"  in  fortitude;  but  in  the  common  walks  of 
life,  its  every-day  trials ;  in  the  sweet  charities  of  the 
fireside  and  the  street;  in  the  self-denial  that  shares 
its  loaf  with  the  distressful ;  the  honest  heart  which  re- 
spects others  as  itself.  Looking  deeper  than  the  straws 
of  the  surface  we  see  a  stream  of  new  life  is  in  the 
world,  and,  though  choked  with  mud,  not  to  be 
dammed  up.  =» 

The  history  of  Christianity  reveals  the  majestic  pre- 
eminence of  its  earthly  founder.  In  him  amid  all  his 
Messianic  expectations,  there  shines  a  clear  religious 
light  —  love  to  God,  love  to  man.  Come  to  the  later 
times  of  the  apostles,  the  sky  is  overcast  with  dog- 
matic clouds,  and  doubtful  twilight  begins.  Take  an- 
other step  and  the  darkness  deepens.  Come  down  to 
Justin  Martyr,  it  is  deeper  still ;  to  Irenseus,  Tertullian, 
Cyprian;  to  the  times  of  the  Council  of  Nice;  read 
the  letters  of  Ambrose,  Jerome,  Augustine,  the  apol- 
ogies of  Christianity,  the  fierce  bickerings  of  strong 
men  about  matters  of  no  moment, —  we  should  think 
it  the  midnight  of  the  Christian  church,  did  we  not 
know  that  after  this  "  woe  was  past,"  there  came  an- 
other woe;  that  there  was  a  refuge  of  lies  remaining 
where  the  blackness  of  darkness  fell,  and  the  shadow  of 
death  lingered  long  and  would  not  be  lifted  up. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the  painful  task  of  trae- 


THE  CHURCH  863 

ing  the  obvious  decline  of  Christianity,  and  its  absorp- 
tion m  the  organization  of  the  church,  which  assumed 
the  keys  of  heaven,  and  bound  and  tortured  men  on 
earth.  It  is  beautiful  to  see  the  free  piety  of  Paul, 
amid  all  his  dogmatic  subtleties, —  a  man  to  whom  the 
world  owes  so  much,* —  and  the  happy  state  of  the 
earlier  churches ;  when  no  one  controlled  another,  ex- 
cept by  wisdom  and  love;  when  each  was  his  own 
priest,  with  no  middle-man  to  forestall  inspiration,  and 
stand  between  him  and  God ;  when  each  could  come 
to  the  father,  and  get  truth  at  first  hand  if  he  would. 
Jesus  would  break  every  yoke,  but  new  yokes  were  soon 
made,  and  in  his  name.  He  bade  men  pray  as  he  did ; 
with  no  mediator,  nothing  between  them  and  the  Father 
of  all;  making  each  place  a  temple  and  each  act  a 
divine  service.  With  the  doctrines  of  his  religion  on 
their  tongue;  the  example  of  Jesus  to  stimulate  and 
encourage  them ;  the  certain  conviction  that  truth  and 
God  were  on  their  side;  going  into  the  world  of  men 
sick  of  their  worn-out  rituals,  and  hungering  and  thirst- 
ing after  a  religion  they  could  confide  in,  live  and  die 
by ;  having  stout  hearts  in  their  bosoms  which  danger 
could  not  daunt,  nor  gold  bribe,  nor  contempt  shame, 
nor  death  appall,  nor  friends  seduce  —  no  wonder  the 
apostles  prevailed!  An  earnest  man,  though  rude  as 
Bohme,  and  Bunyan,  and  Fox,  even  in  our  times,  com- 
ing in  the  name  of  religion,  speaking  its  word  of  fire, 
and  appealing  to  what  is  deepest  and  divinest  in  our 
heart,  never  lacks  auditors.  Now  the  zeal  of  the  Mor- 
mons makes  converts.  No  wonder  the  apostles  con- 
quered the  world.  It  were  a  miracle  if  they  had  not 
put  to  flight  "  armies  of  the  aliens,"  the  makers  of 

*  See  Parker,  ubi  sup.  p.  238,  et  seq. 


364  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

"  silver  shrines,"  and  "  them  that  sold  and  bought  in 
the  temple."  Man  moves  man  the  world  round,  and 
rehgion  multiplies  itself  as  the  banian  tree.  Men  with 
all  the  science  of  the  nineteenth  century,  but  no  re- 
ligion, can  scarce  hold  a  village  together,  while  every 
religious  fanatic,  from  Mahomet  to  Mormon,  finds  fol- 
lowers plenty  as  flowers  in  summer,  and  true  as  steel. 
Can  no  man  divine  the  cause? 

Blessed  was  the  Christian  church  while  all  were 
brothers.  But  soon  as  the  Trojan  horse  of  an  or- 
ganized priesthood  was  dragged  through  the  ruptured 
wall,  there  came  out  of  it,  stealthily,  men  cunning  as 
Ulysses,  cruel  as  Diomed,  arrogant  as  Samuel,  ex- 
clusive and  jealous,  armed  to  the  teeth  in  the  panoply 
of  worldliness.  The  little  finger  of  the  Christian 
priesthood  was  found  thicker  than  the  loins  of  their 
fathers  —  the  flamens  of  Jupiter,  Quirinus,  the  Leviti- 
cal  priests  of  Jehovah.  Then  belief  began  to  take  the 
place  of  life;  the  priest  of  the  man;  the  church  of 
home ;  the  flesh  and  the  devil  of  the  word  and  the  Holy. 
Spirit.  Divine  service  was  mechanism ;  religion  priest- 
craft ;  Christianity  a  thing  for  kings  to  swear  by,  and 
to  help  priests  to  wealth  and  fame.  But  a  seed  re- 
mained that  never  bowed  the  knee  to  the  idol. 
Righteous  men,  they  were  cursed  by  the  church,  and 
blessed  by  the  God  of  truth.  We  are  to  blame  no 
class  of  men,  neither  the  learned  who  were  hostile  to 
Christianity,  nor  the  priests  who  assumed  this  power 
for  the  loaves  and  fishes'  sake ;  they  were  men,  and  did 
as  others,  with  their  light  and  temptations,  would  have 
done.  Looking  with  human  eyes,  it  is  not  possible  to 
see  how  the  evil  could  have  been  avoided.  The  wicked- 
ness long  intrenched  in  the  world ;  that  undercurrent  of 
sin  which  runs  through  the  nations;  the  low  civiliza- 


THE  CHURCH  365 

tion  of  the  race;  the  selfishness  of  strong  men,  their 
awful  wars ;  the  hideous  sins  of  slavery,  polygamy,  the 
oppression  of  the  weak;  the  power  of  lust,  brutality, 
and  every  sin, —  these  were  obstacles  that  even  Chris- 
tianity could  not  sweep  away  in  a  moment,  though 
strongest  of  the  historic  daughters  of  God.  Mten 
could  sail  safely  for  some  years  in  the  light  of  Jesus, 
though  seen  more  and  more  dimly.  But  as  the  stream 
of  time  swept  them  further  down,  and  the  cold  shadow 
from  mountains  of  hoary  crime  came  over  them  anew, 
they  felt  the  darkness.  Let  us  judge  these  men  lightly. 
Low  as  the  Christian  church  was  in  the  third,  fourth, 
fifth,  and  sixth  centuries,  it  yet  represented  the  best 
interests  of  mankind  as  no  other  institution.  Indi- 
viduals but  not  societies  rose  above  it,  and  soared 
away  to  the  heaven  of  peace,  amid  its  cry  of  excom- 
munication.    Let  us  give  the  church  its  due. 

Now  as  no  institution  exists  and  claims  the  unforced 
homage  of  men  unless  it  have  some  real,  permanent 
excellence,  in  virtue  of  which  alone  it  holds  its  place, 
being  hindered,  not  helped  by  the  accidental  error, 
falsity,  and  sin,  connected  therewith;  and  since  the 
Christian  church  has  always  stood,  in  spite  of  its 
faults,  and  filled  such  a  place  in  human  aff^airs  as  no 
other  institution,  it  becomes  us  to  look  for  the  idea 
it  represents,  knowing  there  must  be  a  great  truth  to 
stand  so  long,  extend  so  wide,  and  uphold  so  much 
that  is  false. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE     FUNDAMENTAL     AND     DISTINCTIVE 
IDEA    OF    THE     CHRISTIAN     CHURCH  — 
DIVISION  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  SECTS 

I- 
All  forms  of  conscious  religion  have  this  common 
point,  an  acknowledged  sense  of  dependence  on  God, 
and  each  has  some  special  peculiarity  of  its  own,  which 
distinguishes  it  from  all  others.  Now  the  essential 
peculiarity  of  Christianity  is,  indeed,  that  moral  and 
religious  character  already  spoken  of ;  *  but  the  formal 
and  theoretic  peculiarity,  which  contradistinguishes  it 
from  all  other  religions,  is  this  doctrine : —  That  God 
has  made  the  highest  revelation  of  himself  to  man 
through  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  This  doctrine  —  which 
does  not  proceed  from  the  absolute  character,  but  from 
the  historical  origin  of  Christianity  —  is  the  common 
ground  on  which  all  Christian  sects,  the  Catholic  and 
the  Quaker,  the  Anabaptist,  the  Rationalist  and  the 
Mormon,  are  agreed.  But  as  this  is  logically  affirmed 
by  all  theoretical  Christians,  it  is  as  logically  denied  by 
all  not-theoretical  Christians.  Thus  the  Jews  and 
Mahometans,  think  their  prophets  superior  to  Jesus. 
When  we  find  a  man  who  is  a  higher  "  incarnation  of 
God  " ;  one  who  teaches  and  lives  out  more  of  religion 
and  morality  than  Jesus,  we  are  bound  to  admit  that 
fact,  and  then  cease  to  be  theoretical  Christians.  Men 
may  now  be  essential  and  practical  Christians,  if  they 
regard  Christianity  as  the  absolute  religion,  and  live  it 

♦Above,  Book  III.  Ch.  III. 
S66 


THE  CHURCH  367 

out;  or  if  they  live  the  absolute  religion  and  give  it 
no  name,  though  not  theoretical,  may  fetill  be  essential 
Christians. 

This  distinctive  doctrine  of  Christianity  appears  in 
various  forms  in  the  different  sects.  Thus  some  call 
Jesus  the  Infinite  God;  others  the  First  of  Created 
Beings ;  others  a  Miraculous  Being  of  a  mixed  nature, 
and  hence  a  God-man,  the  identity  of  man  and  God; 
others  still,  a  mortal  man,  the  most  perfect  representa- 
tion of  goodness  and  religion.  These  may  all  be  re- 
garded, excepting  the  last,  as  more  or  less  mythological 
statements  of  this  distinctive  doctrine. 

Now  if  Christianity  be  taken  for  the  absolute  re- 
ligion, with  this  theoretical  peculiarity,  and  developed 
in  a  man,  it  has  an  influence  on  all  his  active  powers. 
It  affects  the  mind,  he  makes  a  theology;  the  con- 
science, he  lives  a  manly  life;  the  imagination,  he 
devises  a  symbol,  rite,  penance,  or  ceremony.  The 
theology,  the  life,  and  the  symbol,  must  depend  on  the 
natural  endowments,  and  artificial  culture  of  the  in- 
dividual Christian,  and  as  both  gifts  and  the  develop- 
ment thereof  differ  in  different  men,  it  is  plain  that 
various  sects  must  naturally  be  formed,  each  of  which, 
setting  out  from  the  first  principle  common  to  all  re- 
ligions, and  embracing  the  great  theoretical  doctrine  of 
Christianity,  which  distinguishes  it  from  all  non-Chris- 
tian religions,  has  besides,  a  certain  peculiar  doctrine 
of  its  own  which  separates  it  from  all  other  Christian 
sects.  These  sects  are  the  necessary  forms  religion 
takes  in  connection  with  the  varying  condition  of  men. 
The  Christian  church  as  a  whole  is  made  up  of  these 
parties,  all  of  whom,  taken  together,  with  their  the- 
ologies, life  and  symbols,  represent  the  amount  of 
absolute  religion  which  has  been  developed  in  Christen- 


368         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

dom,  in  the  speculative,  practical,  or  aesthetic  way.  To 
understand  the  Christian  church,  therefore,  we  must 
understand  each  of  its  parties,  their  truth  and  error, 
their  virtue  and  vice,  and  then  form  an  appreciation 
of  the  whole  matter. 

In  making  the  estimate,  however,  we  may  neglect 
such  portions  of  the  Christian  church  as  have  had  no 
influence  on  the  present  development  of  Christianity 
amongst  us.  Thus  we  need  not  consider  the  Greek 
and  Oriental  churches  after  the  sixth  century,  as  their 
influence  upon  the  rest  of  Christendom  ceased  to  be 
considerable,  in  consequence  of  the  superior  practical 
talents  of  the  Western  churches.*  The  remaining  por- 
tions may  be  classified  in  various  ways ;  but,  for  the 
present  purpose,  the  following  seems  the  best  arrange- 
ment, namely: 

I.  The  Catholic  Party. 
II.  The  Protestant  Party. 

III.  Those  neither  Catholics  nor  Protestants. 

These  three  will  be  treated  each  in  its  turn. 
•See  Sermons  of  Theism,  etc.  Introduction. 


CHAPTER  IV  ' 
THE  CATHOLIC  PARTY 

The  Catholic  church  is  the  oldest  and  in  numbers 
still  the  most  powerful  of  all  Christian  organizations. 
It  grew  as  the  Christian  spirit  extended  among  the 
ruins  of  the  old  world,  by  the  might  of  the  truth  borne 
in  its  bosom  overpowering  the  old  worship,  the  artifice 
of  priests,  the  selfishness  of  the  afiluent,  the  might  of 
the  strong,  the  cherished  forms  of  a  thousand  years,  the 
impotent  armies  of  purple  kings.  It  rose  from  small 
beginnings.  No  one  knows  who  first  brought  Chris- 
tianity to  Rome;  nor  who  planted  the  seed  of  that 
hierarchic  power  which  soon  became  a  tree,  and  at 
length  a  whole  forest,  stretching  to  the  world's  end,  en- 
folding chapels  for  the  pious,  and  dens  for  robbers. 
The  practical  spirit  of  old  Rome  came  into  the  church. 
Its  power  grew  as  Christian  freedom  declined.  The 
mantle  of  that  giant  genius,  which  made  the  seven- 
hilled  city  conqueror  of  the  world;  the  belt  of  power 
which  girt  the  loins  of  her  mighty  men,  Fabius,  Reg- 
ulus,  Cicero,  Caesar,  passed  to  the  Christian  bishops,  as 
that  genius  fled  from  the  earth,  howling  over  his  crum- 
bled work.  The  spirit  of  those  ancient  heroes  came 
into  the  church;  their  practical  skill;  their  obstinate 
endurance;  their  power  of  speech  with  words  like 
battles ;  their  lust  of  power ;  their  resolution  which 
nothing  could  overturn,  or  satisfy.  The  Greek  Chris- 
tians were  philosophic,  literary ;  they  could  sling  stones 
at  a  hair's-breadth.  In  the  early  times  they  had  all  the 
advantage  of  position ;  "  the  chairs  of  the  apostles  " ; 
m— 24  369 


370         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

the  Christian  scriptures  written  in  their  tongue. 
Theirs  were  the  great  names  of  the  first  centuries, 
Polycarp,  Justin,  the  Clements,  Origen,  Eusebius, 
Athanasius,  Basil,  the  Gregories,  Chrysostom.  But  the 
Latin  church  had  the  practical  skill,  the  soul  to  dare, 
and  the  arm  to  execute:  its  power  therefore  advanced 
step  by  step.  Its  chiefs  were  dexterous  men,  with  the 
coolness  of  Caesar,  and  the  zeal  of  Hannibal.  Am- 
brose, Jerome,  Augustine,  would  have  been  powerful 
men  anywhere  —  in  the  court  of  Sardanapalus,  or  a 
college  of  Jesuits.  They  brought  the  world  into  the 
church.  'Twas  the  world's  gain,  but  the  church's  loss. 
The  emperor  soon  learned  to  stoop  his  conquering 
eagles  to  the  spiritual  power,  which  shook  the  capital. 
The  church  held  divided  sway  with  him.  The  spiritual 
sceptre  was  wrested  from  his  hands.  Constantine  fled 
to  Byzantium  as  much  to  escape  the  Latin  clergy  as 
to  defend  himself  from  the  warriors  of  the  North.* 

Now  the  Cathohc  church,  held  to  the  first  truths  of 
religion  and  of  Christianity,  as  before  shown.  Its  pe- 
cuhar  and  distinctive  doctrine  was  this,  that  God  still 
acts  upon  and  inspires  mankind,  being  in  some  measure 
immanent  therein.  This  doctrine  is  broad  enough  to 
cover  the  world,  powerful  enough  to  annihilate  the  ar- 
rogance of  any  church.  But  the  Roman  party  limited 
this  doctrine  by  adding,  that  God  did  not  act  by  a 
natural  law,  directly  on  the  mind  and  conscience,  heart 
and  soul  of  each  man,  who  sought  faithfully  to  ap- 
proach him,  but  acted  miraculously,  through  the  or- 

♦See  the  external  causes  of  the  superiority  of  the  Roman 
church,  in  Rehm,  Geschichte  des  Mittelalters,  Vol.  I.  p.  516,  et 
seq.  Constantine  established  public  worship  on  Fridays  and 
Sundays  m  his  army,  appointing  priests  and  deacons,  and  pro- 
viding a  tent  for  religious  purposes  in  every  Numerus,  Sozomen, 
U.  Hi.  I.  C.  8. 


THE  CHURCH  871 

ganization  of  the  church  on  its  members  and  no  others ; 
and  on  them,  not  because  they  were  men,  but  instru- 
ments of  the  church ;  not  in  proportion  to  a  man's 
gifts,  or  the  use  of  the  gifts,  but  as  he  stood  high  or 
low  in  the  church.  The  humblest  priest  had  a  little 
inspiration,  enough  to  work  the  greatest  of  miracles ; 
the  bishop  had  more ;  the  pope,  as  head  of  the  church, 
must  be  infallibly  inspired,  so  that  he  could  neither 
act  wrong,  think  wrong,  nor  feel  wrong. 

The  absolute  religion  and  morality,  necessarily  sets 
out  from  the  absolute  source,  the  spirit  of  God  in  the 
soul  revealing  truth.  The  Catholic  church,  on  the  con- 
trary, starts  from  a  finite  source,  the  limited  work  of 
Inspired  men,  namely,  the  traditional  word  preserved 
in  scripture  and  the  unscriptural  tradition,  both  writ- 
ten and  not  written.  But  then,  laying  down  this  indis- 
putable truth,  that  a  book  must  be  interpreted  by  the 
same  spirit  in  which  it  is  written,  and  therefore  that  a 
book  written  by  miraculous  and  superhuman  inspira- 
tion can  be  understood  only  by  men  inspired  in  a  simi- 
lar way,  and  limiting  the  requisite  inspiration  to  itself, 
it  assumed  the  office  of  sole  interpreter  of  the  scriptures ; 
refused  the  Bible  to  the  laymen,  because  they,  as  unin- 
spired, could  not  understand  it,  and  gave  them  only 
its  own  interpretation.  Thus  it  attempted  to  mediate 
between  mankind  and  the  Bible. 

Then  again,  relying  on  the  unscriptural  tradition 
preserved  in  the  fathers,  the  councils,  the  organization 
and  memory  of  the  church,  it  makes  this  of  the  same 
authority  as  the  scriptures  themselves,  and  so  claims 
divine  sanction  for  doctrines  which  are  neither  counte- 
nanced by  "  human  reason,"  as  true,  nor  "  divine  reve- 
lation," as  contained  in  the  Bible.  This  is  a  point  of 
great  importance,  as  it  will  presently  appear. 


Sn  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Now  the  Catholic  church  was  logically  consistent 
with  itself  in  both  these  pretensions.  Each  individual 
church,  at  first,  received  what  scripture  it  saw  fit,  and 
interpreted  the  word  as  well  as  it  could.  Next  the 
synods  decreed  for  the  mass  of  churches  both  the  canon 
of  scripture  and  the  doctrine  it  contained.  The  Cath- 
olic church  continued  to  exercise  these  privileges. 
Then  again,  taking  the  common  notion,  the  church 
had  a  logical  and  speculative  basis  for  its  claim  to 
inspiration,  though  certainly  none  in  point  of  fact.  If 
God  miraculously  inspired  Jesus  to  create  a  new  re- 
ligion, Peter,  Paul,  and  John  to  preach  it,  and  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  and  Luke  to  record  the  words  and  works 
of  Christ  and  of  the  Christians,  when  did  the  miracu- 
lous inspiration  cease.?  With  the  apostles  or  their  suc- 
cessors; the  direct  or  the  remote  .^^  Did  it  cease  at  all?_ 
It  did  not  appear.  Besides,  how  could  the  inspired 
works  be  interpreted  except  by  men  continually  in- 
spired; how  could  the  church,  founded  and  built  by 
miraculous  action,  be  preserved  by  the  ordinary  use 
of  man's  powers.?  Were  Jude  and  James  inspired  and 
Clement  and  Ambrose  left  with  no  open  vision.?  Such 
a  conclusion  could  not  come  from  a  comparison  of  their 
works.  Did  not  Jesus  promise  to  be  with  his  church  to 
the  end  of  the  world.?  Here  was  the  warrant  for  the 
assumptions  of  the  catholic  party.  So,  with  logical 
consistency,  it  claimed  a  perpetual,  miraculous,  and 
exclusive  inspiration,  on  just  as  good  ground  as  it 
allowed  the  claim  of  earlier  men  to  the  same  inspira- 
tion; it  made  tradition  the  master  over  the  soul,  on 
just  the  same  pretension  that  the  Bible  is  made  the 
only  certain  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  As  the  only 
interpreter  of  scripture,  the  exclusive  keeper  of  tra- 
dition, as  the  vicar  of  God,  and  alone  inspired  by  him, 


THE  CHURCH  373 

it  stood  between  man  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Bible, 
Antiquity,  and  God,  on  the  other  ^ide.  The  church 
was  sacred,  for  God  was  immanent  therein;  the  world 
profane,  deserted  of  deity. 

The  church  admits  three  sources  of  moral  and  re- 
ligious truth,  namely: — 

1.  The  scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
and  Apocrypha.  It  declares  these  are  good  and  wise, 
but  ambiguous  and  obscure,  and  by  themselves  alone 
incomplete,  not  containing  the  whole  of  the  doctrine 
and  requiring  an  inspired  expositor  to  set  forth  their 
contents. 

2.  The  unscriptural  tradition,  oral  and  written. 
This  is  needed  to  supply  what  is  left  wanting  through 
the  imperfection  of  scripture,  and  to  teach  the  more 
recondite  doctrines  of  Christianity,  such  as  the  trinity, 
redemption,  the  authority  of  the  church,  purgatory, 
intercession,  the  use  of  confession,  penance,  and  the 
like,  and  also  to  explain  the  scriptures  themselves. 
But  tradition  also  is  imperfect,  ambiguous,  full  of  ap- 
parent contradictions,  and  impossible  for  the  laity  to 
understand,  except  through  the  inspired  class,  who 
alone  could  reconcile  its  several  parts. 

3.  The  direct  inspiration  of  God  acting  on  the  of- 
ficial members  of  the  church;  that  is,  on  its  councils, 
priests,  and  above  all  on  its  infallible  head. 

The  church  restricted  direct  inspiration  to  itself,  and 
even  within  its  walls  the  action  of  God  was  limited, 
for  if  an  individual  of  the  clerical  order  taught  what 
was  hostile  to  the  doctrine  of  the  church,  or  not  con- 
tained therein,  his  inspiration  was  referred  to  the  devil, 
not  God,  and  the  man  burned,  not  canonized.  Thus 
inspiration  was  subjected  to  a  very  severe  process  of 


874         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

verification  even  within  the  church  itself.  It  forbid 
mankind  to  trust  reason,  conscience,  and  the  religious 
element ;  to  approach  God  through  these,  and  get  truth 
at  first  hand,  as  Moses,  Jesus,  and  the  other  great  men 
of  antiquity  had  done.  For  this  the  layman  must  de- 
pend on  the  clergy,  and  the  clergyman  must  depend 
on  the  whole  church,  represented  by  the  fathers  or 
councils,  and  idealized  in  its  head.  Thus  the  church 
was  the  judge  of  the  doctrine  and  the  practice;  in- 
vested with  the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell ;  with  power  to 
bind  and  loose,  remit  sins,  or  retain  them,  and  au- 
thority to  demand  absolute  submission  from  the  world, 
or  punish  with  fagots  and  hell,  men  who  would  not 
believe  as  the  church  commanded.  In  this  way  it 
would  control  private  inspiration.  But  not  to  leave 
the  heretics  hopeless,  or  drive  them  to  violence,  it  as- 
sumes the  right  to  restore  them,  and  pardon  their 
sins,  on  condition  of  submission  and  penance.  The  Sa- 
viour, the  martyrs,  the  saints,  had  not  only  expiated 
their  own  sins,  but  performed  works  of  supererogation, 
and  so  established  a  sinking-fund  to  liquidate  the  sins 
of  the  world.  This  deposit  was  at  the  disposal  of  the 
church,  who  could  therewith,  aided  by  the  interces- 
sion of  the  beatified  spirits,  purchase  the  salvation  of 
a  penitent  heretic,  though  his  sins  were  as  crimson. 

The  church  assumed  mastery  over  all  souls.  The 
individual  was  nothing ;  the  church  was  all.  Its  power 
stood  on  a  miraculous  basis ;  its  authority  was  derived 
from  God.  The  humblest  priests,  in  celebrating  the 
mass,  performed  a  miracle  greater  than  all  the  wonders 
of  Jesus,  for  he  only  changed  water  into  wine,  and  fed 
five  thousand  men  with  five  loaves ;  but  the  priest,  by  a 
single  word,  changed  bread  and  wine  into  the  flesh  and 
blood  of  Almighty  God.     It  styles  itself  God's  vice- 


THE  CHURCH  375 

gerent  on  earth,  and  as  Jesus  was  a  temporary  and 
partial  incarnation  of  the  deity,  so  itself  is  a  perfect 
and  eternal  incarnation  thereof.  Thus  the  Christian 
church  became  a  theocracy.  It  was  far  more  consis- 
tent than  the  Jewish  theocracy,  for  that  allowed  private 
inspiration,  and  therefore  was  perpetually  troubled  by 
the  race  of  prophets,  who  never  allowed  the  priests 
their  own  way,  but  cried  out  with  most  rousing  indig- 
nation against  the  Levites  and  their  followers,  and  re- 
fused to  be  put  down.  Besides,  the  Jewish  theocracy 
limited  infallibility  to  God  and  the  law,  which  was  to 
be  made  known  to  all,  and  though  inspired  could  be 
easily  understood  by  the  simple  son  of  Israel:  it  never 
claimed  that  for  the  priesthood. 

Now  there  are  but  two  scales  in  the  balance  of  power : 
the  individual  who  is  ruled  and  the  institution  that 
governs,  here  represented  by  the  church.  Just  as  the 
one  scale  rises,  the  other  falls.  The  spiritual  freedom 
of  the  individual  in  the  church  is  contained  in  an  angle 
too  small  to  be  measurable.  Did  men  revolt  from  this 
iron  rule?  There  was  the  alternative  of  eternal  dam- 
nation, for  all  men  were  born  depraved,  exposed  to  the 
wrath  of  God;  their  only  chance  of  avoiding  hell  was 
to  escape  through  the  doors  of  the  church.  Thus  men 
were  morally  compelled  to  submit  for  the  sake  of  its 
"  redemption."  Did  they  throw  themselves  on  the 
mercy  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  penitent  for  their  disobedi- 
ence of  the  church?  They  were  told  that  mercy  was 
at  the  church's  disposal.  Did  they  make  the  appeal  to 
scripture,  and  say  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall 
all  be  made  alive;  that  he  had  expiated  all  their  sins? 
The  church  told  them  their  exegesis  of  the  passage 
was  wrong,  for  Christ  only  expiated  their  inherited  sin, 
jiqt  the  actual  sins  they  had  committed,  and  for  which 


876         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

they  must  smart  in  hell,  atone  for  in  purgatory,  or  get 
pardoned  by  submitting  to  the  vicar  of  God,  and  going 
through  the  rites,  forms,  fasts,  and  penances  he  should 
prescribe,  and  thus  purchase  a  share  of  the  redemption 
which  Christ  and  the  saints  by  their  works  of  superero- 
gation had  provided  to  meet  the  case.  This  doctrine 
was  taught  in  good  faith  and  in  good  faith  received.* 

I.  The  Merits  of  the  Catholic  Church, 

As  we  look  back  upon  the  history  of  the  church  and 
see  the  striking  unity  of  that  institution,  we  naturally 
suppose  its  chiefs  had  a  regular  plan ;  but  such  was  not 
the  fact.  The  peculiar  merit  of  the  Catholic  church 
consists  in  its  assertion  of  the  truth,  that  God  still  in- 
spires mankind  as  much  as  ever;  that  He  has  not  ex- 
hausted himself  in  the  creation  of  a  Moses,  or  a  Jesus, 
the  law,  or  the  gospel,  but  is  present  and  active  in  spirit 
as  in  space:  admitting  this  truth,  so  deep,  so  vital  to 
the  race — o.  truth  preserved  in  the  religions  of  Egypt, 
Greece,  and  Rome,  and  above  all  in  the  Jewish  faith  — 
clothing  itself  with  all  the  authority  of  ancient  days ; 
the  word  of  God  in  its  hands,  both  tradition  and  scrip- 
ture ;  beheving  it  had  God's  infallible  and  exclusive  in- 
spiration in  its  heart,  for  such  no  doubt  was  the  real 
belief,  and  actually,  through  its  Christian  character, 
combining  in  itself  the  best  interests  of  mankind,  no 
wonder  it  prevailed.     Its  countenance  became  as  light- 

•  See,  who  wiU,  Rehm,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II.  p.  541,  et  seq.,  and 
Vol.  III.  p.  1,  et  seq.,  for  the  political  aspect  of  the  Roman 
church.  Guizot,  Histoire  de  la  Civilization,  etc.  Le^on  II.- 
yi.  X.-XII.  Hallam,  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle 
Ages,  ch.  VII.  and  the  admirably  candid  remarks  thereon  in 
his  Supplementary  notes.  Gibbon,  ubi  sup.  ch.  XV.  XVI. 
XVIII.  XXI.  Comte,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  V.  Legon,  LIV.  LV.  who 
in  some  respects,  surpasses  all  his  predecessors. 


THE  CHURCH  37T 

ning.  It  stood  and  measured  the  earth.  It  drove 
asunder  the  nations.  It  went  forth  in  the  mingling 
tides  of  civilized  corruption  and  barbarian  ferocity,  for 
the  salvation  of  the  people  —  conquering  and  to  con- 
quer; its  brightness  as  the  light. 

It  separated  the  spiritual  from  the  temporal  power, 
which  had  been  more  or  less  united  in  the  theocracies 
of  India,  Egypt,  and  Judea,  and  which  can  only  be 
united  to  the  lasting  detriment  of  mankind.  This  was 
a  great  merit  in  the  church;  one  that  cannot  be  ap- 
preciated in  our  days,  for  we  have  not  felt  the  evil  it 
aimed  to  cure.  The  church,  in  theory,  stood  on  a  basis 
purely  moral ;  it  rose  in  spite  of  the  state ;  in  the  midst 
of  its  persecutions.  At  first  it  shunned  all  temporal 
affairs,  and  never  allowed  a  temporal  power  to  be  supe- 
rior to  itself.  The  department  of  political  action  be- 
longed to  the  state;  that  of  intellectual  and  religious 
action,  the  stablest  and  strongest  of  power,  —  to  the 
church.  Hence  its  care  of  education ;  hence  the  influ- 
ence it  exerted  on  literature.  We  read  the  letters  of 
Ambrose  and  Augustine  and  find  a  spirit  all  unknown 
to  former  times.*  Tertullian  could  oppose  the  whole 
might  of  the  state  with  his  pen.  That  fierce  African 
did  not  hesitate  to  exhibit  the  crimes  of  the  nation. 
The  apologetists  assume  a  tone  of  spiritual  authority 
surprising  in  that  age. 

The  church  set  apart  a  speculative  class,  distinct 
from  all  others,  including  the  most  cultivated  men  of 
their  times.  It  provided  a  special  education  for  this 
class,  one  most  admirably  adapted,  in  many  points,  for 
the  work  they  were  to  do.     Piety  and  genius  found 

*  See  this  point  ably  though  briefly  treated  in  Schlosser,  ubi 
sup.  Vol.  III.  Pt.  III.  p.  102-151,  and  IV.  p.  25-'X5.  See  also 
Pt  II.  p.  167,  et  seq. 


378  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

here  an  asylum,  a  school,  and  a  broad  arena.  Thus 
it  had  a  troop  of  superior  minds,  educated  and  pious 
men,  who  could  not  absorb  the  political  power,  as  the 
sacerdotal  class  of  India,  Egypt,  and  Judea  had  done ; 
who  could  not  be  indifferent  to  the  social  and  moral 
condition  of  mankind,  as  the  priesthood  had  been  in 
Greece  and  Rome.  Theoretically,  they  were  free  from 
the  despotism  of  one,  and  the  indifference  of  the  other. 
The  public  virtue  was  their  peculiar  charge. 

Ancient  Rome  was  the  city  of  organizations,  and 
practical  rules.  Nowhere  was  the  individual  so  thor- 
oughly subordinated  to  the  state.  War,  science,  and 
lust,  of  old  time,  had  here  incarnated  themselves.  The 
same  practical  spirit  organized  the  church,  with  its 
dictator,  its  senate,  and  its  legions.  The  discipline  of 
the  clerical  class,  their  union,  zeal,  and  commanding 
skill  gave  them  the  solidity  of  the  phalanx,  and  the 
celerity  of  the  legion.  The  church  prevailed  as  much 
by  its  organization  as  its  doctrine.  What  could  a 
band  of  loose-girt  apostles,  each  warring  on  his  own 
account,  avail  against  the  refuge  of  lies,  where  strength 
and  sin  had  intrenched  themselves,  and  sworn  never  to 
yield?  An  organized  church  was  demanded  by  the 
necessities  of  the  time ;  an  association  of  soldiers  called 
for  an  army  of  saints.*  A  sensual  people  required 
forms,  the  church  gave  them;  superstitious  rites, 
divination,  processions,  images,  the  church, —  obdurate 
as  steel  when  occasion  demands,  but  pliant  as  molten 
metal  when  yielding  is  required  —  the  church  allowed 
all  this.  Its  form  grew  out  of  the  wants  of  the  time 
and  place. 

Was  there  no  danger  that  the  priesthood,  thus  able 
and  thus  organized,  should  become  ambitious  of  wealth 
*  See  Guizot  und  Comte. 


THE  CHURCH  379 

and  power?  The  greatest  danger  that  fathers  should 
seek  to  perpetuate  authority  for  their  children.  But 
this  class  of  men,  cut  off  from  posterity  by  the  pro- 
hibition of  marriage,  lived  in  the  midst  of  ancient  and 
feudal  institutions,  where  all  depended  on  birth;  where 
descent  from  a  successful  pirate,  or  some  desperate 
freebooter,  hardhanded  and  hardhearted,  who  harried 
village  after  village,  secured  a  man  elevation,  political 
power,  and  wealth;  the  clergy  were  cut  off  from  the 
most  powerful  of  all  inducements  to  accumulate  au- 
thority. In  that  long  period  from  Alaric  to  Columbus, 
when  the  church  had  ample  revenues;  the  most  able 
and  cultivated  men  in  her  ranks,  so  thoroughly  disci- 
plined; the  awful  power  over  the  souls  of  men,  far 
more  formidable  than  bayonets  skillfully  plied ;  with  an 
acknowledged  claim  to  miraculous  inspiration  and 
divine  authority,  were  it  not  for  the  celibacy  of  the 
Christian  priesthood  —  damnable  institution,  and  preg- 
nant with  mischief  as  it  was  —  we  should  have  had  a 
sacerdotal  caste,  the  Levites  of  Christianity,  whose 
little  finger  would  have  been  thicker  than  the  loins  of 
all  former  Levites ;  who  would  have  flayed  men  with 
scorpions,  where  the  priestly  despots  of  Egypt  and 
India  only  touched  them  with  a  feather,  and  the  dawn 
of  a  better  day  must  have  been  deferred  for  thousands 
of  years.  The  world  is  managed  wiser  than  some  men 
fancy.  "  Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  Thee, 
and  the  remainder  of  wrath  shalt  thou  restrain, 
said  an  old  writer.  The  remedy  of  inveterate 
evils  is  attended  with  sore  pangs.  These  wretched 
priests  of  the  middle  ages  bore  a  burden,  and  did  a 
service  for  us,  which  we  are  slow  to  confess. 

The  church,  reacting  against  the  sensuality  and  ex- 
cessive publicity  of  the  heathen  world,  in  its  establish- 


S80         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

ment  of  convents  and  monasteries,  opened  asylums  for 
delicate  spirits  that  could  not  bear  the  rage  of  savage 
life ;  afforded  a  hospital  for  men  sick  of  the  fever  of  the 
world,  worn-out  and  shattered  in  the  storms  of  state, 
who  craved  a  little  rest  for  charity's  sweet  sake,  before 
they  went  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and 
the  weary  are  at  rest.  Among  the  sensual  the  saint 
is  always  an  anchorite;  religion  gets  as  far  as  possi- 
ble from  the  world.*  Rude  men  require  obvious  forms 
and  sensible  shocks  to  their  roughness.  The  very 
place  where  the  monks  prayed  and  the  nuns  sang,  was 
sacred  from  the  ruthless  robber.  As  he  drew  near  it, 
the  tiger  was  tame  within  him ;  the  mailed  warrior 
kissed  the  ground,  and  religion  awoke  for  the  moment 
in  his  heart.  The  fear  of  hell,  and  reverence  for  the 
consecrated  spot,  chained  up  the  devil  for  the  time. 

Then  the  church  had  a  most  diffusive  spirit ;  it  would 
Christianize  as  fast  as  the  state  would  conquer;  its 
missionaries  were  found  in  the  courts  of  barbarian 
monarchs,  in  the  caves  and  dens  of  the  savage,  diffus- 
ing their  doctrine  and  singing  their  hymns.  Creating 
an  organization  the  most  perfect  the  world  ever  saw; 
with  a  policy  wiser  than  any  monarch  had  dreamed  of, 
and  which  grew  more  perfect  with  the  silent  accretions 
of  time;  with  address  to  allure  the  ambitious  to  its 
high  places,  and  so  turn  all  their  energy  into  its  deep 
wide  channel ;  with  mysteries  to  charm  the  philosophic, 
and  fill  the  fancy  of  the  rude;  with  practical  doctrines 
for  earnest  workers,  and  subtle  questions,  always  skil- 
fully left  open  for  men  of  acute  discernment ;  with  rites 
and  ceremonies  that  addressed  every  sense,  rousing  the 
mmd  like  a  Grecian  drama,  and  promising  a  participa- 

*  To  illustrate  this  point  see,  instar  omnium,  the  works  of  St. 
Bernard. 


THE  CHURCH  381 

tion  with  God  through  the  sacrament;  with  wisdom 
enough  to  bring  men  really  filled  with 'religion  into  its 
ranks;  with  good  sense  and  good  taste  to  employ  all 
the  talent  of  the  times  in  the  music,  the  statues,  the 
painting,  the  architecture  of  the  temple,  thus  conse- 
crating all  the  powers  of  man  to  man's  noblest  work; 
with  so  much  of  Christian  truth  as  the  world  in  its 
wickedness  could  not  forget  —  no  wonder  the  church 
spread  wide  her  influence;  sat  like  a  queen  among  the 
nations,  saying  to  one  go,  and  it  went,  to  another  come, 
and  it  came. 

Then,  again,  its  character,  in  theory,  was  kindly  and 
humane.  It  softened  the  asperity  of  secular  wars; 
forbid  them  in  its  sacred  seasons;  established  its  truce 
of  God,  and  gave  a  chance  for  rage  to  abate.  Against 
the  king,  it  espoused  the  cause  of  the  people.  Coming 
in  the  name  of  one  "  despised  and  rejected  of  men," 
*'  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief;"  of  a 
man  born  in  an  ox's  crib,  at  his  best  estate  not  having 
where  to  lay  his  head;  who  died  at  the  hangman's 
hand,  but  who  was  at  last  seated  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  and  in  his  low  estate  was  deemed  God  in  humil- 
iation come  down  into  the  flesh,  to  take  its  humblest 
form,  and  show  He  was  no  respecter  of  persons, —  the 
church  did  not  fail  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  people, 
with  whom  Christianity  found  its  first  adherents,  its 
apostles,  and  defenders.  With  somewhat  in  its  worst 
days  of  the  spirit  of  Him  who  gave  His  life  a  ransom 
for  many ;  with  much  of  it  really  active  in  its  best  days 
and  its  theory  at  all  times,  the  church  stood  up,  for 
long  ages,  the  only  bulwark  of  freedom ;  the  last  hope 
of  man  struggling  but  sinking  as  the  whelming  waters 
of  barbarism  whirled  him  round  and  round.  It  came 
to  the  baron,  haughty  of  soul,  and  bloody  of  hand, 


S8^  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

who  sat  in  his  clifF-tower,  a  hungry  giant ;  who  broke 
the  poor  into  fragments,  ground  them  to  powder,  and 
spurned  them  Hke  dust  from  his  foot ;  it  came  between 
him  and  the  captive,  the  serf,  the  slave,  the  defenceless 
maiden,  and  stayed  the  insatiate  hand.  Its  curse 
blasted  as  lightning.  Even  in  feudal  times,  it  knew  no 
distinction  of  birth ;  all  were  "  conceived  in  sin," 
"  shapen  in  inquity,"  alike  the  peasant  and  the  peer. 
The  distinction  of  birth,  station,  was  apparent,  not 
real.  Yet  were  all  alike  children  of  God,  who  judged 
the  heart,  and  knew  no  man's  person;  all  heirs  of 
heaven,  for  whom  prophets  and  apostles  had  uplifted 
their  voice;  yes,  for  whom  God  had  worn  this  weary, 
wasting  weed  of  flesh,  and  died  a  culprit's  death. 
Then  while  nothing  but  the  accident  of  distinguished 
birth,  or  the  possession  of  animal  fierceness,  could  save 
a  man  from  the  collar  of  the  thrall,  the  church  took  to 
her  bosom  all  who  gave  signs  of  talent  and  piety ; 
sheltered  them  in  their  monasteries;  ordained  them  as 
her  priests;  welcomed  them  to  the  chair  of  St.  Peter; 
and  men  who  from  birth  would  have  been  companions 
of  the  Galilean  fisherman,  sat  on  the  spiritual  throne 
of  the  world,  and  governed  with  a  majesty  which  Caesar 
might  envy,  but  could  not  equal.  Priests  came  up  from 
no  Levitical  stock,  but  the  children  of  captives  and 
bondmen  as  well  as  prince  and  peer.  When  northern 
barbarism  swept  over  the  ancient  world;  when  temple 
and  tower  went  to  the  ground,  and  the  culture  of  old 
time,  its  letters,  science,  arts,  were  borne  off  before  the 
flood, —  the  church  stood  up  against  the  tide ;  shed  oil 
on  its  wildest  waves;  cast  the  seed  of  truth  on  its 
waters,  and  as  they  gradually  fell,  saw  the  germ  send 
up  its  shoot,  which  growing  while  men  watch  and  while 
they  sleep,  after  many  days,  bears  its  hundred-fold,  » 


THE  CHURCH 

civilization  better  than  the  past,  and  institutions  more 
beneficent  and  beautiful. 

The  influence  of  the  church  is  perhaps  greater  than 
even  its  friends  maintain.  It  laid  its  hand  on  the  poor 
and  downtrodden ;  they  were  raised,  fed  and  comforted. 
It  rejected,  with  loathing,  from  its  coffers,  wealth  got 
by  extortion  and  crime.  It  touched  the  shackles  of  the 
slave,  and  the  serf  arose  disenthralled,  the  brother  of 
the  peer.  It  annihilated  slavery,  which  Protestant 
cupidity  would  keep  forever.*  It  touched  the  diadem 
of  a  wicked  king,  and  it  became  a  crown  of  thorns ;  the 
monarch's  sceptre  was  a  broken  reed  before  the  crosier 
of  the  church. f  Its  rod,  like  the  wand  of  Moses,  swal- 
lowed up  all  hostile  rods.  Like  God  himself,  the 
church  gave,  and  took  away,  rendering  no  reason  to 
man  for  its  gifts  or  extortions.  It  sent  missionaries 
to  the  east  and  the  west,  and  carried  the  waters  of 
baptism  from  the  fountains  of  Nubia,  to  the  roaring 

*  See,  in  Comte,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  V.  p.  407,  et  seq.,  some  Re- 
flections on  the  milder  character  of  Slavery  in  Catholic  America, 
compared  with  Slavery  in  Protestant  America;  and  yet  Comte 
is  hardly  a  theist.  For  the  influence  of  Christianity  on  slavery, 
see  the  accounts  of  Paulinus,  Deogratias,  Patiens,  and  Synesius, 
in  Schlosser,  Vol.  III.  Part  III.  p.  284,  et  seq.  Gibbon,  in  his 
heartless  way,  passes  over  with  scarce  a  notice,  the  beautiful 
spirit  Christianity  brought  into  Rome,  and  its  influence  on  the 
condition  of  slaves.  Hallam  makes  but  a  one-sided  apprecia- 
tion of  the  Catholic  church,  and  it  seems  to  me  has  not  done 
justice  to  its  merits.  But  see  what  ample  amends  he  makes 
in  the  supplementary  notes.  Bp.  England,  Letters  to  Hon. 
John  Forsyth;  Bait.  1844,  labors  to  show  that  the  Catholic 
church  has  been  the  uncompromising  friend  of  slavery.  He 
certainly  makes  out  a  strong  case,  though  not  without  a  little 
suppression  of  the  truth,  as  it  seems  to  me. 

t  See  an  early  instance  of  the  collision  between  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  power  in  the  case  of  Ambrose,  Archbishop  of 
Milan,  and  the  Queen  Justina,  in  Fleury,  ubi  sup.  Liv.  XVIII. 
Chap.  33,  et  seq.;  and  also  in  Gibbon,  Chap.  XXVII, 


384         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

geysers  of  a  northern  isle.  It  limited  the  power  of 
kings ;  gave  religious  education  to  the  people,  which  no 
ancient  institution  ever  aimed  to  impart;  kept  on  its 
sacred  hearth  the  smoldering  embers  of  Greek  or  Ro- 
man thought;  cherished  the  last  faint  sparkles  of  that 
fire  Prometheus  brought  from  gods  more  ancient  far 
than  Jove.  It  had  ceremonies  for  the  sensual ;  confes- 
sionals for  the  pious  —  needed  and  beautiful  in  their 
time  —  labors  of  love  for  the  truehearted ;  pictures  and 
images  to  rouse  devotion  in  the  man  of  taste;  temples 
whose  aspiring  turrets  and  sombre  vaults  filled  the 
kneeling  crowd  with  awe;  it  had  doctrines  for  the 
wise ;  rebukes  for  the  wicked ;  prayers  for  the  reverent ; 
hopes  for  the  holy,  and  blessings  for  the  true.  It  sanc- 
tified the  babe,  newly  born  and  welcome;  watched  over 
marriage  with  a  jealous  eye;  fostered  good  morals; 
helped  men,  even  by  its  symbols,  to  partake  the  Divine 
nature;  smoothed  the  pillow  of  disease  and  death,  giv- 
ing the  soul  wings,  as  it  were,  to  welcome  the  death- 
angel,  and  gently,  calmly,  pass  away.  It  assured  mas- 
culine piety  of  its  reward  in  heaven;  told  the  weak 
and  wavering,  that  Divine  beings  would  help  him,  if 
faithful.  In  the  honors  of  canonization,  it  promised 
the  most  lasting  fame  on  earth;  generations  to  come 
should  caU  the  good  man  a  blessed  saint,  and  his  name 
never  perish  while  Christian  year  went  round.  Her- 
oism of  the  soul  took  the  place  of  boldness  in  the 
flesh.  It  did  not,  like  polytheism,  deify  warriors  and 
statesmen  — Attila,  Theodosius,  Clovis,  their  kingdom 
was  of  this  world ;  but  it  canonized  martyrs  and  saints, 
Polycarp,  Justin,  Ambrose,  Paulinus,  Bernard  of 
Clairvaux.* 

*  Canonization  among  the  Catholics  seems  to  come  from  the 
same  root   with  the  Apotheosis  of  the  Polytheists.    Both,   no 


THE  CHURCH  S85 

Such  were  some  of  the  excellences,  theoretical  or 
practical,  of  the  church.  This  hast;^  sketch  does  not 
allow  more  particular  notice  of  them. 

II.  The  Defects  and  Vices  of  the  Catholic  Party. 

But  the  church  had  vices,  vast  and  awful  to  the 
thought.  As  its  distinctive  excellence  was  to  proclaim 
the  continuance  of  inspiration,  so  its  sacramental  sin 
was  in  limiting  this  inspiration  to  itself,  thus  setting 
bounds  to  the  spirit  of  God  and  the  soul  of  man. 
Who  shall  say  to  the  Infinite  God,  hitherto  shalt  Thou 
come,  but  no  further;  Thou  hast  inspired  Moses  and 
Jesus,  the  apostles,  and  the  church ;  well  done !  now 
rest  from  thy  work,  and  speak  no  more,  except  as  we 
prescribe?     The  church  did  say  it. 

The  wondrous  mechanism  of  the  church  and  much 
of  its  power  came  from  this  false  assumption,  that  it 
alone  had  the  word  of  God.  So  its  organization  was 
based  on  a  lie,  and  required  new  lies  to  uphold,  and 
prophets  of  lies  to  defend  it.  Its  servants,  the  priests, 
became  proud  of  spirit.  The  only  keepers  of  Scrip- 
ture and  tradition ;  the  only  recipients  of  inspiration, 
they  forbid  free  inquiry  as  of  no  use ;  stifled  Conscience 
as  only  leading  men  into  trouble;  and  excommunicated 
Common  Sense,  who  asked  "  terrible  questions,"  calling 
for  the  title  deeds  of  the  church.  They  went  further, 
and  forbid  the  bans  between  Reason  and  Religion ;  and 
when  the  parties  insisted  on  the  union,  turned  them 
both  out  of  doors  with  a  curse.  The  laity  must  not  ap- 
proach God,  as  the  clergy;  must  only  commune  with 
Him  "  in  one  kind."  The  church  forgot  that  God 
grants  inspiration  to  no  one  except  on  condition  he  con- 
doubt,  exerted  an  influence  on  men  who  asked  a  recompense  for 
being  good  and  religious. 
Ill— 25 


S86         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

forms  to  the  divine  law,  living  pure  and  true,  and 
grants  it  only  in  proportion  to  his  gifts  and  his  use 
thereof:  so,  relying  on  the  office  and  "  apostolical  suc- 
cession "  for  inspiration,  the  priests  lived  shameless  and 
wicked  lives,  rivalling  Sardanapalus  and  Domitian  in 
their  cruelty  and  sin.  They  forgot  that  God  withholds 
inspiration  from  none  that  is  faithful;  so  they  stoned 
the  prophets  who  rebuked  their  lies  and  published  their 
sin;  they  shamefully  entreated  men  whom  God  sent  of 
his  errands  to  these  unworthy  husbandmen.  They  be- 
came spiritual  tyrants,  forcing  all  men  to  utter  the 
same  creed,  submit  to  the  same  rite,  reverence  the  same 
symbol,  and  be  holy  in  the  same  way. 

In  its  zeal  to  separate  the  spiritual  power  from  tem- 
poral hands  it  took  what  was  not  its  own  —  power  over 
men's  bodies;  and  made  laws  for  the  state.*  In  its 
haste  to  give  preeminence  to  spiritual  things,  it  made 
its  office  a  bribe,  greater  than  the  state  could  give. 
The  honor  of  sainthood  —  what  was  the  fame  of  king 
and  conqueror  to  that.?  It  promised  the  rewards  of 
high  clerical  office,  and  even  of  canonization  to  the  most 
mercenary  and  cruel  of  men,  whose  touch  was  pollu- 
tion. Its  list  of  saints  is  full  of  knaves  and  despots. 
The  state  was  taken  into  the  church,  —  a  refractory 
member.  The  Flesh  and  the  Devil  were  baptized; 
"took  holy  orders;"  governed  the  church  in  some 
cases,  but  were  still  the  Flesh  and  the  Devil,  though 
called  by  a  Christian  name.  That  divine  man,  whose 
name  is  ploughed  into  the  world,  said.  If  a  man  smite 
the  one  cheek,  turn  the  other ;  but  if  a  man  lifted  his 
hand  or  voice  against  the  church,  —  it  blasted  him 
with  damnation  and  hell.  Christ  said  his  kingdom  was 
not  of  this  world;  so  said  the  church  at  first,  and 
*  See  Hallam,  ubi  supra.  Chap.  VII. 


THE  CHURCH  887 

Christians  refused  to  war,  to  testify  in  the  courts,  to 
appear  in  the  theatres,  and  foul  their  hands  with  the 
world's  sin.  But  soon  as  there  was  an  organized 
priesthood,  to  defend  themselves  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  state,  to  exercise  authority  over  the  souls  of  men, 
power  on  the  earth  became  needed.  One  lie  leads  to 
many.  What  the  church  first  took  in  self-defence  it 
afterwards  clung  to  and  increased,  and  was  so  taken 
up  with  its  earthly  kingdom,  it  quite  forgot  its  patri- 
mony in  Heaven ;  so  it  played  a  double  game,  attempt- 
ing to  serve  God,  and  keep  on  good  terms  with  the 
Devil.  But  it  was  once  said,  "no  man  can  serve  two 
masters."  Unnatural,  spiritual  power  could  not  be 
held  without  temporal  authority  to  sustain  it;  so  the 
church  took  fleshly  weapons  for  its  carnal  ends. 
Monks  raised  armies ;  bishops  led  them ;  God  was  blas- 
phemed by  prayers  to  aid  bloodshed.  The  church 
sold  her  garment  to  buy  a  sword. 

The  Church  was  the  exclusive  vicar  of  God;  she 
must  have  "  the  tonnage  and  poundage  of  all  free- 
spoken  truth."  To  accomplish  this  end  and  establish 
her  dogmas,  she  slew  men,  beginning  with  Priscillian 
and  "  the  six  Gnostics,"  in  the  fourth  century,  at 
Triers,  and  ending  no  one  knows  where,  or  when,  or 
with  whom.*  It  had  such  zeal  for  the  "  unity  of  the 
faith,"  that  it  put  prophets  in  chains;  asked  the  sons 
of  God  if  they  were  "  greater  than  Jacob."  It  made 
Belief  take  the  place  of  Life.     It  absolved  men  of 

*  See  the  story,  in  Sulpitius  Severus,  Hist.  Sac.  Lib.  II.  Ch. 
50-51.  Fleury,  ubi  supra,  Liv.  XVII.  Ch.  56,  5T,  and  XVIII. 
Ch.  29,  30.  The  Pope  St.  Leo  commended  the  action,  but 
Gregory  of  Tours,  and  Ambrose  of  Milan  condemned  it. 
Idacius  and  Ithacius,  the  two  bishops  who  caused  the  execution, 
werft  expelled  from  their  office  by  the  popular  indignation. 
See  Jerome,  lUust.  virorum,  C.  122,  et  seq. 


388         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

sins,  past,  present,  and  future,  emancipated  the 
clergy  from  the  secular  law,  thus  giving  them  license 
to  sin.  It  sold  heaven  to  extortioners  for  a  little  gold, 
and  built  St.  Peters  with  the  spoil.  It  wrung  ill-got- 
ten gains  out  of  tyrants  on  their  death-bed ;  devoured 
the  houses  of  widows  and  the  weak ;  built  its  cathedrals 
out  of  the  spoil  of  orphans,  thus  literally  giving  a 
stone  when  bread  was  asked  for,  as  St.  Bernard  hon- 
estly called  it.*  It  was  greedy  of  gold  and  power,  and 
at  one  time  had  wellnigh  half  the  lands  of  England 
held  in  mortmain.  It  absolved  men  from  oaths ;  broke 
marriages;  told  lies;  forged  charters  and  decretals; 
burned  the  philosophers ;  corrupted  the  classics ;  altered 
the  words  of  the  Fathers ;  changed  the  decisions  of  the 
councils,  and  filled  Europe  with  its  falsehood. f  It  has 
fought  the  most  hideous  of  wars ;  evangelized  nations 
with  the  sword ;  laid  kingdoms  under  interdict  to  grat- 
ify its  pride. 

The  Church  boasts  of  its  uniform  doctrine,  but  it 
changes  every  age;  of  its  peaceful  spirit,  but  who 
fought  the  crusades,  the  wars  of  extermination  in 
Switzerland,  France,  the  Low  Countries.?  To  whom 
must  we  set  down  the  ecclesiastical  butchery  that  filled 
Europe  with  funeral  piles  ?  It  quarreled  with  the  tem- 
poral power,  and  built  up  institutions  of  tyranny  to 
suppress  truth;  kept  the  Bible  to  itself;   made   the 

♦Dante  touchingly  complains  of  the  evil  which  Constantine 
brought  on  the  church  by  the  gifts  which  the  first  wealthy  pope 
received  of  him!    Inferno.  XIX.  115,  et  seq. 

t  See  instances  of  this  forgery  in  Hallam,  ubi  sup.  Ch.  VII. 
p.  391,  et  seq.  et  al.,  ed.  Paris;  Daille,  on  the  right  Use  of  the 
Fathers,  etc.;  London,  1841,  passim.  Middleton,  ubi  supra. 
But  see,  on  the  side  of  the  church,  Bossuet,  Defense  de  la 
Tradition  et  des  Saints  P^res,  and  Manzoni,  Osservazioni  sulla 
Morale  Cattolica;  Firenze,  1835. 


THE  CHURCH  389 

Greek  Testament  a  prohibited  book;  brought  dead 
men's  bones  into  the  temples,  for  the  living  to  worship, 
and  worked  lying  wonders  to  confirm  false  doctrine. 
It  loved  the  night  of  the  Dark  Ages,  and  clung  to  its 
old  dogmas. 

The  Church  came  at  length  to  be  a  colossus  of  crime, 
with  a  thin  veil  of  hypocrisy  drawn  over  its  face,  and 
that  only.  The  vow  of  purity  its  children  took,  be- 
came a  license  for  sin.  The  corruptest  of  courts  was 
the  court  of  the  Pope.  What  reverence  had  the  Arch- 
bishops for  the  dictrine  of  the  church?  Cardinal 
Bembo  bid  Sadolet  not  read  St.  Paul,  it  would  spoil 
his  taste.  In  early  ages  the  apostles  were  the  devout- 
est  of  men ;  in  later  days  their  "  successors "  were 
steeped  to  the  lips  in  crime.* 

For  centuries,  the  church,  like  the  Berserkers  of 
northern  romance,  seemed  to  possess  the  soul  and 
strength  of  each  antagonist  it  slew.  But  its  hour 
struck.  The  work  it  required  ten  centuries  to  mature, 
stood  in  its  glory  not  one.  Each  transient  institution 
has  a  truth,  or  it  would  not  be ;  an  error,  or  it  would 
stand  forever.  The  truth  opens  men's  eyes;  they  see 
the  error  and  would  reject  it.  Then  comes  the  perpet- 
ual quarrel  between  the  Old  and  the  New.  "  Every 
battle  of  the  warrior,"  says  an  ancient  prophet,  "  is 
with  confused  noise,  and  garments  rolled  in  blood ; " 
but  the  battle  of  the  church  was  a  devouring  flame. 

*  See  Hallam,  ubi  sup.  ch.  VII.  De  Potter  loves  to  dwell  on 
the  faults  of  the  church,  for  which  there  is  suflBcient  oppor- 
tunity; Neander,  as  much  too  lenient,  errs  on  the  other  side. 
Much  information  in  a  popular  form  may  be  found  in  M. 
Roux-Ferrand,  Histoire  des  Progres  de  la  Civilization  en 
Europe,  6  vols.  8vo.;  Paris,  1833-1841,  Vol.  I.-II.  Le9ons  X.- 
XII.  Vol.  III.  Ch.  IV.-VI.  Vol.  IV.  Ch.  V.-VII.,  et  al.,  and 
Mrs.  Child's  Religious  Ideas;  N.  Y.  1855,  Vols.  II.  and  III. 


390  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

In  the  time  of  Boniface  VIII.,  or  about  the  end  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  an  eye  that  read  the  signs  of 
the  times,  and  saw  the  cloud  and  the  star  below  the 
horizon,  could  have  foretold  the  downfall  of  the 
church.  Its  brightest  hour  was  in  the  day  of  Inno- 
cent III.  A  wise  Providence  governs  the  affairs  of 
men,  and  never  suffers  the  leaf  to  fall  till  the  swelling 
bud  crowds  it  off.  Out  of  the  ashes  of  the  old  institu- 
tion there  springs  up  a  new  being,  soon  as  the  world 
can  give  it  place.  No  institution  is  normal  and  ulti- 
mate. It  has  but  its  day,  and  never  lasts  too  long  nor 
dies  too  soon.  Judaism  and  Heathenism  nursed  and 
swaddled  mankind  for  Christianity,  which  came  in  the 
fulness  of  time.  The  Catholic  Church  rocked  the 
cradle  of  mankind.  In  due  season,  like  a  jealous 
nurse,  assiduous  and  meddlesome,  but  grown  ill-tem- 
pered with  age  and  disgust  of  new  things,  she  yields 
up  with  reluctance  her  rebellious  charge,  whose  vagar- 
ies her  frowns  and  stripes  will  not  restrain;  whose 
struggling  weight,  her  withered  arms  are  impotent  to 
bear;  whose  aspiring  soul  her  anicular  and  maudlin 
wit  cannot  understand.  Her  promise  will  not  coax; 
nor  her  baubles  bribe ;  nor  her  curses  affright  him  more. 
The  stripling  child  will  walk  alone. 

The  Protestant  "  Reformation  "  came  from  the  ac- 
tion of  ideas  which  had  not  justice  done  them  in  the 
Catholic  Church,  just  as  the  Christian  Reformation 
from  ideas  not  sufficiently  represented  in  Judaism  and 
Heathenism.  It  did  not,  more-  than,  the  other,  come  all 
at  once.  There  was  "  Lutheranism "  before  Luther, 
as  Christianity  before  Christ.  Slowly  the  ages  pre- 
pared for  both,  for  each  was  a  point  in  the  development 
of  man.  The  church  educated  man  to  see  her  faults ; 
gave  them  weapons  to  attack  her.     The  Reformation- 


THE  CHURCH  391 

ivsis  long  a  gathering  in  the  bosom  of  the  church 
itself.*  Athanasius  had  his  Arius  -to  contend  with. 
There  was  always  some  Paul  of  Samosata,  some  Theo- 
dore of  Mopsuestia,  some  Peter  of  Bruis,  or  Henry 
of  Lausanne,  to  trouble  the  church.  In  the  twelfth 
century  it  took  all  the  miracles  of  Clairvaux  and  the 
leanness  of  its  Abbot,  to  put  down  heretics,  who 
would  come  up  again.  Was  there  not  Waldo  in 
France,  Arnold  of  Brescia,  in  the  papal  state,  John 
Huss  at  Constance,  and  WiclifF  in  England,  and  all  of 
them  at  no  great  distance  of  time?  Faustus  and 
Gutenberg  did  more  for  the  Reformation  than  the  Diet 
at  Worms.  Luther,  and  Zwingle,  and  Calvin,  and  the 
host  of  great  men  who  grew  in  their  shadow,  were  only 
the  heralds  that  blew  the  trumpet  of  the  reformation, 
its  prize-fighters,  not  directors  of  the  movement.  It 
was  the  God  of  nations  that  moved  the  world's  heart. 
The  Spirit  only  culminated  in  Luther  and  his  friends. 
It  burned  in  holy  souls  in  Bohemia  and  Languedoc, 
and  the  valleys  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  the  mountains  of 
Tyrol;  it  breathed  in  lofty  minds  at  Paris,  Saxony, 
Padua,  London,  Rome  itself.  Every  learned  Greek 
the  Turks  frighted  from  Constantinople,  or  Italian 
wealth  lured  to  the  queen  of  cities ;  every  manuscript 
of  the  classics,  the  fathers,  the  councils,  the  scriptures 
which  found  deliverance  from  the  moles  and  the  bats; 
every  improvement  in  law,  science,  and  art;  every 
discovery  in  alchemy  or  astrology;  every  invention 
from  the  mariner's  compass  to  monk  Schwartz's  gun- 
powder, was  an  agent  of  the  Reformation.  We  find 
reformers,  from  the  time  of  Marcion  to  John  Wessel. 

*Ranke  in  his  Die  romischen  Pabste,  etc.  im  16,  und  17 
Jahrhundert,  gives  abundant  proof  of  this  reformatory  move- 
ment in  the  church  itself.  See  particularly  Vol.  I.  B.  II.,  but 
the  tale  of  ecclesiastical  crime  is  even  more  distinctly  told. 


392  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Some  tried,  as  in  the  time  of  Jesus,  to  put  new  wine  in 
old  bottles,  but  losing  both,  looked  round  for  new 
things.  That  long  train  of  Mystics,  from  Dionysius 
the  Areopagite,  to  Meister  Eckart  of  Strassburg,  pre- 
pared for  the  work  which  Luther  built  up  with  manly 
shouting. 

To  sum  up  the  claim  of  this  party;  the  Catholic 
Church  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  God  inspires 
that  church,  miraculously  and  exclusively.  This  as- 
sumption is  false.  Though  the  oldest  organization  in 
the  world,  it  has  no  right  over  the  soul  of  man.* 

*  See,  who  will,  the  Roman  doctrine  thoroughly  attacked  in 
the  ponderous  folio  of  Joh.  Gerhard,  Confessio  Catholica,  etc., 
etc.;  Frankfort,  1679;  and  the  superficial  and  somewhat  one- 
sided essay  of  M.  Bouvet,  Du  Catholicisme,  du  Protestantisme, 
et  de  la  Philosophie  en  France;  Paris,  1840.  But  see  the  attack 
of  Simmichius  on  Protestantism,  Confessionistarum  Goliathis- 
mus  profligatus,  etc.,  etc.;  Louvan,  1657.  Many  of  the  most 
important  claims  of  the  Catholic  church,  that  of  supremacy 
in  temporal  affairs,  infallibility  in  spiritual  matters,  and  the 
right  to  enforce  doctrines,  are  abandoned  by  an  able  Catholic 
writer,  J.  H.  Von  Wessenberg,  the  late  bishop  of  Constance. 
See  his  Die  grossen  Kirchenversammlungen  des  15ten  und  16ten 
Jahrhundert:  Const.  1840,  4  vol.  8vo. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  PROTESTANT  PARTY 

The  distinctive  idea  of  Protestantism  is  this:  the 
canonical  scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
are  the  direct  word  of  God,  and  therefore,  the  only  in- 
fallible rule  of  religious  faith  and  practice.  It  logic- 
ally denied  that  an  inspired  man  was  needed  to  stand 
between  mankind  and  the  inspired  word.  Each  man 
must  consult  the  scriptures  for  himself;  expound  them 
for  himself,  by  the  common  rules  of  grammar,  logic, 
and  rhetoric.  Each  man,  therefore,  must  have  freedom 
of  conscience  up  to  this  point,  but  no  further.  God 
was  immanent  in  the  scriptures ;  not  in  the  church. 
The  ecclesiastical  tradition  was  no  better  than  other 
tradition.  It  might,  or  it  might  not,  be  true.  The 
Catholic  Church  had  no  miraculous  inspiration. 

Now  it  was  a  great  step  for  the  human  race,  to  make 
this  assertion  in  the  sixteenth  century ;  it  demanded  no 
little  manhood  to  do  so  at  that  time.  Where  were  the 
men  who  had  made  it  in  the  sixth,  and  all  subsequent 
centuries?  Their  bones  and  their  disgrace  paved  the 
highway  on  which  Luther  walked  as  a  giant  to  a  fame 
world-wide  and  abiding.  At  first  the  work  of  the  Prot- 
estants, like  that  of  all  reformers,  was  negative,  expos- 
ing the  errors  and  sins  of  the  Catholic  party ;  clearing 
the  spot  on  which  to  erect  their  church ;  fighting  with 
words  and  blows.  In  the  war  of  the  giants,  sore 
strokes  must  be  laid  on.  The  ground  shook  and  the 
sky  rang  with  the  quarrel.  "  God  will  see,"  said  stout 
Martin,  "  which  gives  out  first,  the  Pope  or  Luther." 


394!  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

The  church  thundered  and  lightened  from  the  seven- 
hilled  city  looking  with  a  frown  towards  Saxony.  Lu- 
ther gave  back  thunder  for  thunder,  scorn  for  scorn. 
Did  the  church  condemn  Luther?  He  paid  it  back  in 
the  same  pence.  The  church  says,  "  Luther  is  a  here- 
tic, and  should  be  burned  had  we  skill  to  catch  him." 
Luther  declares  "  the  Pope  is  a  wolf  possessed  with  the 
devil,  and  we  ought  to  raise  the  hue  and  cry,  and  tear 
him  to  pieces  without  judge  or  jury." 

I.     The  Merit  of  Protestantism. 

Its  merit  as  a  reformation  was  both  negative  and 
positive.  It  was  right  in  declaring  the  Roman  Church, 
with  its  clergy,  cardinals,  councils,  popes,  no  more 
inspired  than  other  men,  and  therefore  no  more  fit  than 
others  to  keep  tradition,  expound  scripture,  and  hold 
the  keys  of  Heaven ;  nay,  more,  that  by  reason  of  their 
prejudice,  ignorance,  sloth,  ambition,  crime,  and  sin  in 
general,  they  had  less  inspiration,  for  they  had  grieved 
away  the  spirit  of  God.  It  was  right  in  denying  the 
authority  of  the  church  in  temporal  matters ;  in  declar- 
ing that  its  tradition  was  no  better  than  other  tradition, 
nay,  was  even  less  valuable,  for  the  church  had  told 
lies  in  the  premises,  and  the  fact  was  undeniable.  The 
Protestants  justified  their  words  in  this  matter  by 
exposing  the  weak  points  of  the  church,  its  lies,  false 
doctrines,  and  wicked  practices;  its  arrogance  and 
worldly  ambition;  the  disagreement  of  the  popes;  the 
contraditions  of  the  councils  and  fathers,  and  the 
crimes  of  the  clergy,  who  make  up  the  church.  It  was 
right  in  examining  the  canon  of  scripture,  casting  off 
what  was  apocryphal,  or  spurious ;  in  demanding  that 
the  laity  should  have  the  Bible  and  the  sacraments  in 
full,  and  claim  the  right  to  interpret  scripture,  reject 


THE  CHURCH  395 

tradition,  relics,  saints,  and  having  nothing  between 
them  and  Christ  or  God.  It  was  right  in  demanding 
freedom  of  conscience  for  all  men,  up  to  the  point  of 
accepting  the  scriptures.*  This  was  no  vulgar  merit, 
but  one  we  little  appreciate.  The  men  who  fight  the 
battle  for  all  souls,  rarely  get  justice  from  the  world. 

II.     The  Vice  and  Defect  of  Protestantism, 

Its  capital  vice  was  to  limit  the  power  of  private 
inspiration,  and,  since  there  must  be  somewhere  a 
standard  external  or  within  us,  to  make  the  Bible  mas- 
ter of  the  soul.  Theoretically,  it  narrowed  the  sources 
of  religious  truth,  and  instead  of  three,  as  the  Catho- 
lics, it  gave  us  but  one ;  though  practically  it  did  more 
than  the  Cathohcs,  for  it  brought  men  directly  to  one 
fountain  of  truth. f  Now  if  the  Catholic  had  an  undue 
reverence  for  the  organized  church,  so  had  the  Protes- 
tant for  the  scriptures.  Both  sought  in  the  world  of 
concrete  things  an  infallible  source  and  standard  of 

*  It  is  not  necessary  to  cite  the  proofs  of  the  above  state- 
ments from  the  reformers,  as  they  may  be  seen  in  the  dogmati- 
cal writers  so  often  referred  to  before.  However,  the  most 
signijficant  passages  may  be  found  collected  in  Harles,  The- 
ologische  Encyclopadie  und  Methodologie ;  Leips.  1837,  Chap. 
III.  IV.  The  early  reformers  differ  in  opinion  as  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  Bible.  It  is  well  known  with  what  freedom 
and  contempt  Luther  himself  spoke  of  parts  of  the  canon,  and 
the  stories  of  miracles  in  the  Gospels  and  Pentateuch.  But  his 
own  opinion  fluctuated  on  this  as  on  many  other  points.  He 
cared  little  for  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke.  Indeed,  it  would 
not  require  a  very  perverse  ingenuity  to  make  out,  from  the 
reformers,  a  Straussianismus  ante  Straussium. 

t  This  is,  logically  speaking,  the  fundamental  principle  of 
the  reformers,  though  qualifications  of  it  may  be  found  in 
Luther,  Melanchthon,  Zwingle,  and  Calvin,  which  detract  much 
from  its  scientific  rigor.  But  still  the  principle  was  laid  down 
at  the  bottom  of  the  Protestant  fabric,  and  is  yet  a  stone  of 
stumbling  and  rock  of  offense  to  free  men. 


396  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

moral  and  religious  truth.  There  is  none  such  out  of 
human  consciousness;  neither  in  the  church,  nor  the 
Bible.  Both  must  be  idealized  to  support  this  preten- 
sion. Accordingly  as  the  one  party  idealized  the 
church:  assumed  its  divine  origin,  its  infallibility,  and 
the  exclusive  immanence  of  God  therein;  so  the  other 
assumed  the  divine  origin  of  the  scriptures,  their  in- 
fallibility, and  the  exclusive  immanence  of  God  in 
them.  Has  either  party  proved  its  point.?  Neither  is 
capable  of  proof.  As  the  Catholic  maintained,  in  the 
very  teeth  of  notorious  facts,  that  there  was  no  contra- 
diction in  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  its  popes  and 
councils,  and  more  eminent  fathers ;  in  the  very  face 
of  reason,  that  all  its  doctrines  were  true  and  divine; 
so  did  the  Protestant,  in  the  teeth  of  facts  equally 
notorious,  deny  there  was  any  contradition  in  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible,  its  prophets,  evangelists,  apostles ; 
in  the  very  face  of  reason,  declared  that  every  word  of 
scripture  was  the  word  of  God,  and  eternally  true! 
Nay,  more,  the  Protestants  maintained  that  the  record 
of  scripture  was  so  sacred,  that  a  divine  providence 
watched  over  it  and  kept  all  errors  from  the  manu- 
script. What  a  cry  the  Protestants  made  about  the 
"  various  readings."  Could  Cappellus  get  his  book  on 
the  textual  variations  of  the  Old  Testament  printed  un- 
der Protestant  favor?  A  perpetual  miracle,  said  Prot- 
estantism, kept  the  text  of  the  Old  Testament  and  New 
Testament  from  the  smallest  accident.  But  that  doc- 
trine would  not  stand  against  the  noble  army  of  vari- 
ous readings  —  thirty  thousand  strong. 

"  Where  there  is  no  vision,  the  people  perish."  The 
Protestants,  denying  there  was  inspiration  now  as  in 
Paul's  time,  yet  knowing  they  must  have  religious 
truth  or  the  word  of  God,  clung  like  dying  men  to  the 


THE  CHURCH  397 

letter  of  the  Bible,  as  their  only  hope.  The  words  of 
the  Bible  had  but  one  meaning,  not  many ;  that  was  to 
be  got  at  by  the  usual  methods  —  pious  and  honest 
study  of  the  grammatical,  logical,  rhetorical  sense 
thereof.*  With  its  word,  man  must  stop,  for  he  has 
reached  the  fountainhead.  But  has  the  word  of  God 
become  a  letter;  is  all  truth  in  the  Bible,  and  is  no 
error,  no  contradition  therein?  Was  the  doctrine  once 
revealed  to  the  saints,  revealed  once  for  all?  Is  the 
Bible  a  finality,  and  man  only  provisional?  So  said 
Protestantism.  This  was  its  vice.  But  God  has  set 
one  thing  against  another,  so  that  all  work  together  for 
good.  It  was  a  great  step  to  get  back  to  the  Bible, 
and  freedom  of  conscience,  and  good  sense  in  its  expo- 
sition. 

Protestantism  wrought  wonders,  and  overthrew  the 
magicians  in  the  Egypt  of  the  church.  It  saw  the 
ecclesiastical  Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the  Red  Sea, 
with  destruction  opening  its  hungry  jaws  to  devour 
them.  But  it  had  a  mixed  multitude  in  its  own  train, 
and  left  the  people  in  the  wilderness,  wandering  like  the 
Gibeonites,  with  no  power  to  get  bread  from  heaven, 
or  water  from  the  living  rock.  Its  Jethros  were  philol- 
ogists who  knew  nothing  of  the  spiritual  land  of  hills 
and  brooks,  and  milk  and  honey.  Its  leaders  —  men 
noble  as  Moses,  men  of  vast  soul,  and  Herculean  power 
to  do  and  suffer,  to  speak  and  be  silent  —  had  a  Pis- 

*  Chemnitz,  Loci  communes,  Pt.  III.  p.  235,  et  al.  denounces 
the  doctrine  of  the  church,  that  the  Bible  was  "imperfect, 
insufloicient,  ambiguous,  and  obscure."  Luther  and  Melanchthon 
condemn  the  old  practice  of  allegorizing  scripture.  See  the 
passages  collected  in  Harles,  ubi  sup.  p.  133,  et  seq.  and  the 
dogmatical  writers  above  referred  to,  Strauss,  Glaubenslehre, 
§  12,  13,  Seckendorf,  De  Lutheranismo,  etc.;  ed.  1688,  p.  10, 
38,  130,  74.  But  on  the  other  side,  see  Gazzaniga,  ubi  sup.  VoL 
J.  p.  171,  et  seq. 


398  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

gah  view  of  the  land  of  promise,  and  wished  God  would 
put  his  spirit  on  all  the  people;  but  they  died  and 
gave   no   sign.     The   nations   are   still   wandering   in 
the  desert;  carrying  the  sanctuary,  the  ark,  the  table 
of  the  law;  sometimes    sighing   after  the   leeks   and 
garlics  left  behind;  now  and  then  worshipping  a  calf 
of  gold,  of  parchment,  or  spoken  wind;  murmuring 
and  rebellious ;  with  here  and  there  a  Korah,  Dathan, 
and  Abiram  rising  up  in  their  ranks,  clouds  enough, 
but  with  no  Moses  nor  pillar  of  fire.     Still,  God  be 
praised,  we  are  no  longer  slaves  under  the  iron  bondage 
of  the  church.     They  were  men  who  dared  to  come  out, 
those  heroes  of  the  reformation.     This  protest  against 
the  Roman  Church,  was  one  of  the  noblest  the  world 
ever  saw ;  perhaps  never  surpassed  but  once,  and  then 
by  a  single  soul,  big  as  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever. 
Stout-hearted  Martin  Luther,  with  his  face  rugged, 
homely,  and  honest,  with  a  soul  of  fire,  and  words  like 
cannon-shot,   a   heart   that   feared   neither   pope   nor 
devil,  and  a  living  faith  which  sang  in  his  dungeon : — 
"  The  lord  our  God  is  a  castle  strong," —  the  greatest 
of  the  prophets  and  the  "  chief  est  of  apostles,"  seems 
little  to  him.     We  may  thank  God  and  take  courage, 
remembering  that  such  men  have  been,  and  may  be. 
There  is  no  tyranny  like  the  spiritual  —  that  of  soul 
over  soul,  no  heroism  like  that  which  breaks  the  bonds 
of  such  tyranny.     You  shall  find  men  thick  as  acorns 
m   autumn,  who  will  wade  neck-deep  in   blood,   and 
charge  up  to  the  cannon's  mouth,  when  it  rains  shot 
as  snow-flakes  at  Christmas.     Such  men  may  be  had 
for  red  coats  and  dollars,  and  "  fame."     It  requires 
only  vulgar  bravery  for  that,  and  men  who  are  "  food 
for   powder."     But   to   oppose  the   institution   which 
your  fathers  loved  in  centuries  gone  by ;  to  sweep  off 


THE  CHURCH  399 

the  altars,  forms,  and  usages  that  ministered  to  your 
mother's  piety,  helped  her  bear  the  bitter  ills  and  cross 
of  life,  and  gave  her  winged  tranquillity  in  the  hour 
of  death ;  to  sunder  your  ties  of  social  sympathy ;  de- 
stroy the  rites  associated  with  the  aspiring  dream  of 
childhood,  and  its  earliest  prayer,  and  the  sunny  days 
of  youth  —  to  disturb  these  because  they  weave  chains, 
invisible  but  despotic,  which  bind  the  arm  and  fetter 
the  foot,  and  confine  the  heart ;  to  hew  down  the  hoary 
tree  under  whose  shadow  the  nations  played  their  game 
of  life,  and  found  in  death  the  clod  of  the  valley  sweet 
to  their  weary  bosom, —  to  destroy  all  this  because  it 
poisons  the  air  and  stifles  the  breath  of  the  world  —  it 
is  a  sad  and  a  bitter  thing;  it  makes  the  heart  throb, 
and  the  face,  that  is  hard  as  iron  all  over  in  public, 
weeps  in  private,  weak  woman's  tears  it  may  be.  Such 
trials  are  not  for  vulgar  souls ;  they  feel  not  the  riddle 
of  the  world.  The  vulgar  church  —  it  will  do  for 
them,  for  it  bakes  bread,  and  brews  beer.  Would  you 
more?  No.  That  is  enough  for  blind  mouths. 
Duty,  freedom,  truth,  a  divine  life,  what  are  they.? 
Trifles  no  doubt  to  monk  Tetzel,  the  Leos  and  Bem- 
bos,  and  other  sleek  persons,  new  and  old.  But  to  a 
heart  that  swells  with  religion,  like  the  Atlantic, 
pressed  by  the  wings  of  the  storm,  they  are  the  real 
things  of  God,  for  which  all  poor  temporalities  of 
fame,  ease  and  life  are  to  be  cast  to  the  winds.  It  is 
needful  that  a  man  be  true;  not  that  he  live.  Are 
men  dogs,  that  they  must  be  happy  ?  Luther  dared  to 
be  undone. 

The  sacramental  error  of  Protestantism  in  restrict- 
ing private  judgment  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible, 
was  in  part  neutralized  by  admitting  freedom  of  indi- 


400  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

vidual  conscience,  and  therefore  the  right  and  the 
duty  to  interpret  the  Bible.  Here  it  allowed  great 
latitude.  Each  man  might  determine  by  historical 
evidence  his  own  canon  of  scripture,  in  some  measure, 
and  devise  his  own  method  of  interpretation.  Yet  the 
old  spirit  of  the  church  was  still  there,  to  watch  over 
the  exegesis.  The  Bible  was  found  very  elastic,  and 
therefore  hedges  were  soon  set  about  it,  in  the  shape 
of  symbolical  books,  creeds,  thirty-nine  articles,  cate- 
chisms, and  confessions  of  faith,  which  cooped  up  the 
soul  in  narrower  limits.  But  these  formularies,  like 
the  scriptures,  were  found  also  indefinite,  and  would 
hold  the  most  opposite  doctrines,  for  though  the 
schoolmen  doubted  whether  two  similar  spirits  could 
occupy  at  once  the  same  point  of  space,  it  is  put 
beyond  a  doubt  that  two  very  dissimilar  doctrines 
may  occupy  the  same  words,  at  the  same  time.  Tak- 
ing "  substance  for  doctrine,"  any  creed  may  be  sub- 
scribed to,  and  a  solemn  ecclesiastical  farce  continue 
to  be  enacted,  as  edifying  if  not  so  entertaining  as  the 
old  miracle-plays.  That  was  popular  advice  for  theo- 
logians which  the  old  Jesuit  gave :  "  Let  us  fix  our 
own  meaning  to  words,  and  then  subscribe  them." 
The  maxim  is  still  "  as  good  as  new." 

This  new  and  exclusive  reverence  for  the  Bible  led 
to  popular  versions  of  it ;  to  a  hard  study  of  its  orig- 
inal tongues;  and  a  most  diligent  examination  of  all 
the  means  of  interpreting  its  words.  Here  a  wide 
field  was  opened  for  a  critical  study,  which  even  yet 
has  not  been  thoroughly  explored.  A  host  of  theo- 
logical scholars  sprang  up,  armed  to  the  teeth  with 
Greek  and  "  the  terrible  Hebrew,"  and  attended  by  a 
Babylonian  legion  of  oriental  tongues  and  rabbinical 
studies,  —  scholars  who  had  no  peers  in  the  church,  at 


THE  CHURCH  401 

least,  since  the  time  of  Jerome,  who  translated,  so  he 
says,  the  book  of  Tobit  from  Chaldaic  in  a  day !  But 
this  study  led  to  extravagance.  Sound  principles  of 
interpretation  were  advanced  by  some  of  the  reform- 
ers, but  they  were  soon  abandoned.  Thus,  to  take  a 
single  example:  Luther,  Zwingle,  and  Melanchthon 
said,  a  passage  of  Scripture  can  have  but  one  mean- 
ing.* It  is  unquestionably  true.  But  certain  doc- 
trines must  be  maintained,  and  defended  by  scripture ; 
therefore  if  this  could  not  be  done  by  natural  mean- 
ing of  scripture,  a  secondary  sense  or  a  type  must 
be  sought.  Of  course  it  was  found.  The  old  alle- 
gorical way  of  interpretation  was  bad,  but  this  typical 
improvement  and  doctrine  of  secondary  senses  was 
decidedly  worse. f  In  the  hands  of  both  Protestant 
and  Catholic  interpreters,  the  Bible  is  clay,  to  be 
turned  into  any  piece  of  ecclesiastical  pottery  the  case 
may  require;  persecuted  in  one  sense  they  flee  into 
another.  It  is  a  very  Proteus,  and  takes  all  forms  at 
pleasure.  Now  it  is  a  river  placid  as  starlight,  then 
a  lion  roaring  for  his  prey.  Job  went  through  some 
troubles  in  his  life,  as  the  poem  relates ;  but  even 
death  has  not  placed  him  where  the  wicked  cease  from 
troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest,  professors  and 
critics  have  handled  him  more  sorely  than  Satan,  his 
friends,  or  his  wife.  They  have  made  him  "  sin  with 
his  lips ; "  his  saddest  disease  he  has  caught  at  their 
hands;  his  greatest  calamity  was  his  exposition. 
"  Oh  that  mine  adversary  had  written  a  book,"  said 
the  patient  man.     Did  he  wish  to  explain  it?     Then 

*  Luther  himself  did   not  always  adhere  to  this  rule  in   ex- 
plaining the  Old  Testament. 

t  See  Strauss,  Leben  Jesu,  §  3-4.     Palfrey,  ubi  sup.  Vol.  II. 
Lect.  XXXIII.     Rosenmiiller,  Handbuch  fiir  Literatur  der  bib. 
Kritik,  etc.  Vol.  IV.  p.  1,  et  seq. 
Ill— 26 


40a         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

IS  he  rightly  treated,  for  the  explainers  have  ploughed 
upon  his  back ;  they  made  long  their  furrows.  Moses, 
says  the  Hebrew  Scripture,  was  the  most  tormented 
of  all  the  earth,  but  his  trials  in  the  wilderness  were 
nothing  to  his  sufferings  on  the  rack  of  exegesis, 
The  critics  and  truth  have  disputed  over  him  as  the 
Devil  and  Michael,  but  not  without  railing.  The 
prophets  had  a  hard  time  of  it  in  their  day  and  gen- 
eration; but  Jeremiah  was  put  into  his  darkest  dun- 
geon by  Christian  scholars;  Isaiah  was  never  so  pain- 
fully sawn  asunder  as  by  the  interpreters,  to  whom 
facts  are  as  no  facts,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand 
years,  in  their  chronology.  Jonah  and  Daniel  were 
never  in  such  fatal  jeopardy  as  at  the  present  day. 
A  choleric  man  in  the  Psalms  could  not  curse  his  foes, 
but  he  uttered  maledictions  against  "  the  enemies  of 
the  church ; "  nor  speak  of  recovering  from  illness, 
but  "  he  predicts  an  event  which  took  place  a  thou- 
sand years  later."  A  young  Hebrew  could  not  write 
an  Anacreontic,  but  he  spoke  "  of  the  church  and 
Christ."  Nay,  Daniel,  Paul,  and  John  must  predict 
the  "  abomination  of  Rome ; "  all  the  great  events  as 
they  take  place,  and  even  the  end  of  the  world,  in  the 
day  some  fanatical  interpreter  happens  to  live.  Is 
the  Bible  the  Protestant  standard  of  faith?  Then 
it  is  more  uncertain  than  the  things  to  be  meas- 
ured. The  cloud  in  Hamlet  is  not  more  variable  than 
the  "  infallible  rule  "  in  the  hands  of  the  interpreters. 
The  best  things  are  capable  of  the  worst  abuse.  Alas, 
when  shall  science  and  religion  have  their  place  with 
the  sons  of  men? 

Now  since  Protestantism  denied  the  immanence  of 
God  in  the  church,  as  such,  and  flouted  the  claim  to 


THE  CHURCH  403 

inspiration  when  made  by  any  modern,  it  is  plain 
there  could  be  no  one  authoritative  church;  all  quali- 
tatively were  equal,  resting  on  the  same  foundation. 
Then  admitting  freedom  of  judgment,  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  Bible,  and  great  latitude  in  expounding 
that ;  not  very  often  burning  men  for  heresy,  — - 
though  cases  enough  in  point  might  easily  be  cited,  — 
and  encouraging  great  activity  of  mind,  it  led  to 
diversity  of  opinions,  sentiments  and  practice.  This 
began  in  the  reformers  themselves.  Religion  took  dif- 
ferent shapes  in  Ulrich  von  Hutten  and  John  Calvin. 
Men  obeyed  their  natural  affinities,  and  grouped 
themselves  into  sects,  each  of  which  recognizing  the 
great  principle  of  all  religion;  the  special  doctrine  of 
Christianity;  the  peculiar  dogma  of  Protestantism, 
has  also  some  distinctive  tenet  of  its  own.  Soon  as 
the  outward  pressure  of  papal  hostility  was  some- 
what lightened,  these  conflicting  elements  separated 
into  several  churches.  Now  neglecting  those,  with 
which  we  in  New  England  have  little  to  do,  the  rest 
may  be  divided  into  two  parties,  namely :  — 

I.  Those  who  set  out  from  the  idea  that  God  is  a 
sovereign. 

II.  Those  who  set  out  from  the  idea  that  God  is  a 
father. 

The  theology  and  ethics,  the  virtue  and  vice  of 
each,  require  a  few  words. 

I. 

The  Party  that  sets  out  from  the  Sovereignty  of  God. 

This  party  takes  the  supernatural  view  before 
pointed  out.  It  makes  God  an  awful  king.  The  uni- 
verse   shudders    at    his    presence.     The    thunder    and 


404  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

earthquake  are  but  faint  whispers  of  his  wrath,  as  the 
magnificence  of  earth  and  sky  is  but  one  ray  out  from 
the  heaven  of  his  glory.  He  sits  in  awful  state. 
Human  flesh  quails  at  the  thought  of  him.  It  is  ter- 
rible to  fall  into  his  hands,  as  fall  we  must.  Man 
was  made  not  to  be  peaceful  and  blessed,  but  to  serve 
the  selfishness  of  the  All-King,  to  glorify  God  and  to 
praise  him.  Originally,  man  was  made  pure  and  up- 
right. But  in  order  to  tempt  beyond  his  strength  the 
frail  creature  he  had  made,  God  forbid  him  the  exercise 
of  a  natural  inclination,  not  evil  in  itself.  Man  diso- 
beyed the  arbitrary  command.  He  "  fell."  His  first 
sin  brought  on  him  the  eternal  vengeance  of  the  all- 
powerful  King;  hurled  him  at  once  from  his  happi- 
ness; took  from  him  the  majesty  of  his  nature;  left 
him  poor,  and  impotent  and  blind,  and  naked;  trans- 
mitting to  each  of  his  children  all  the  "  guilt "  of  the 
primeval  sin.  Adam  was  the  "  federal  head  of  the 
human  race."  "  In  Adam's  fall  we  sinned  all." 
Man  has  now  no  power  of  himself  to  discern  good  from 
evil,  and  follow  the  good.  His  best  efforts  are  but 
"filthy  rags  "  in  God's  sight ;  his  prayers  an  "  abom- 
ination." Man  is  born  "  totally  depraved."  Sin  is 
native  in  his  bones.  Hell  is  his  birthright.  To  be 
any  thing  acceptable  to  God  he  must  renounce  his 
"  nature,"  violate  the  law  of  the  soul.  He  is  a  worm 
of  the  dust,  and  turns  this  way  and  that,  and  up  and 
down,  but  finds  nothing  in  nature  to  cling  by,  and 
climb  on. 

God  is  painted  in  the  most  awful  colors  of  the  Old 
Testament.  The  flesh  quivers  while  we  read,  and  the 
soul  recoils  upon  itself  with  suppressed  breath,  and 
ghastly  face,  and  sickening  heart.  The  very  heavens 
are  not  clean  in  his  sight.     The  grim,  awful  King  of 


THE  CHURCH  405 

the  world,  "  jealous  God  visiting  the  iniquities  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children ; "  "angry  with  the  wicked 
every  day,"  and  "  keeping  anger  forever,"  "  of  purer 
eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity,"  he  hates  sin,  though  he 
created  it,  and  man,  though  he  made  him  to  fall," 
"  with  a  perfect  hatred."  Vengeance  is  his,  and  he 
will  repay.  He  must  therefore  punish  man  with  all 
the  exquisite  torture  which  infinite  thought  can  de- 
vise, and  omnipotence  apply ;  a  creditor,  he  exacts  the 
uttermost  farthing;  a  king,  upheld  by  his  fury,  the 
smallest  offence  is  high-treason,  the  greatest  of  crimes. 
His  code  is  Draconian;  he  that  offends  in  one  point 
is  guilty  of  all ;  good  were  it  for  that  man  he  had  never 
been  born;  extremest  vengeance  awaits  him;  the  jeal- 
ous God  will  come  upon  him  in  an  hour  when  he  is  not 
aware,  and  will  cut  him  asunder  Hence  comes  the 
doctrine  of  "  eternal  damnation,"  a  dogma  which  Epi- 
curus and  Strato  would  have  called  it  blasphemy  to 
teach. 

But  God,  though  called  personal,  is  yet  infinite. 
Mercy  therefore  must  be  part  of  his  nature.  He  de- 
sires to  save  man  from  the  horrors  of  hell.  Shall  he 
change  the  nature  of  things?  That  is  impossible. 
Shall  he  forgive  all  mankind  outright?  The  infinite 
King  forgive  high-treason?  It  is  not  consistent  with 
divine  dignity  to  forgive  the  smallest  violation  of  his 
perfect  law.  A  sin,  however  small,  is  "  an  infinite 
evil."  He  must  have  an  infinite  "  satisfaction."  All 
the  human  race  are  sinners,  by  being  bom  of  woman. 
The  damning  sin  of  Adam  vests  in  all  their  bones. 
They  must  suffer  eternal  damnation  to  atone  for  their 
inherited  sin,  unless  some  "  substitute "  take  their 
place. 

Now   it  has   long  been  a  maxim  in  the   courts   of 


406         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

la^^  —  whence  many  forensic  terms  have  been  taken 
and  applied  to  theology,  especially  since  the  time  of 
Anselm  —  that  a  man's  property  may  suffer  in  place 
of  his  person,  and  since  his  friends  may  transfer  their 
property  to  him,  they  may  suffer  in  his  place  "  vicari- 
ous punishment.*  Thus  before  Almighty  God,  there 
may  be  a  substitute  for  the  sinner.  This  doctrine  is 
a  theological  fiction.  It  is  of  the  same  family  with 
what  are  called  "  legal  fictions "  in  the  courts,  and 
"  practical  fictions  "  in  the  street :  a  large  and  ancient 
family  it  must  be  confessed,  that  has  produced  great 
names.  But  no  man  can  be  a  substitute  for  another, 
for  sin  is  infinite  and  he  finite.  Though  all  the  liquid 
fires  of  hell  be  poured  from  eternity  on  the  penitent 
head  of  the  whole  race,  not  a  single  sin,  committed  by 
one  man,  even  in  his  sleep,  could  be  thereby  atoned 
for.  An  infinite  "  ransom  "  must  be  paid  to  save  a 
single  soul.  God's  "  mercy  "  overcomes  his  "  justice," 
for  man  deserves  nothing  but  "  damnation,"  he  will 
provide  the  ransom.  So  he  sent  down  his  Son  to  ful- 
fill the  law  —  which  man  could  not  fulfill,  —  realize 
infinite  goodness,  and  thus  merit  the  infinite  reward, 
and  then  suff^er  all  the  tortures  of  infinite  sin,  as  if  he 
had  not  fulfilled  it,  and  thus  prepare  a  ransom  for  all ; 
"  purchasing "  their  "  salvation."  Thus  men  are 
saved  from  hell,  by  the  "  vicarious  suffering  "  of  the 
Son.  But  this  would  leave  them  in  a  negative  state; 
not  bad  enough  for  hell ;  not  good  enough  for  heaven. 
The  "  merits  "  of  the  Son  as  well  as  his  sufferings, 
must  be  set  down  to  their  account,  and  thus  man  is 
e.evated  to  heaven  by  the  "  imputed  righteousness  " 
of  the  Son. 

*"Qui  non  habet  in  crumena,  luet  in  cute,"  is  a  maxim;  and 
its  converse  holds  good  in  theology. 


THE  CHURCH  407 

But  how  can  the  Son  achieve  these  infinite  merits 
and  endure  this  infinite  torment  and'  "  redeem  "  and 
"  save  "  the  race?  He  must  be  infinite,  and  then  it 
follows;  for  all  the  actions  of  the  Infinite  are  also  in- 
finite, in  this  logic.  But  two  Infinites  there  cannot  be. 
The  Son,  therefore,  is  the  Father,  and  the  Father  the 
Son.  God's  justice  is  appeased  by  God's  mercy. 
God  "  sacrifices  "  God  for  the  sake  of  men.  Thus  the 
infinite  "  satisfaction "  is  accomplished ;  with  God, 
God  has  paid  God  the  infinite  ransom,  for  the  infinite 
sin ;  the  "  sacrifice  "  has  been  offered ;  the  ''  atone- 
ment "  completed ;  "  we  are  bought  with  a  price ;  "  "  as 
in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."* 

Now  in  the  very  teeth  of  logic  this  system  under 
consideration  maintains  that  God  did  not  thus  pur- 
chase the  redemption  of  all,  for  such  "  forgiveness  " 
would  ill  comport  with  his  dignity.  Therefore  certain 
"  conditions  "  are  to  be  complied  with,  before  man  is 
entitled  to  this  salvation.  God  knew  from  all  eternity 
who  would  be  saved,  and  they  are  said  to  be  "  elected 
from  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,"  to  eternal 
happiness.  God  is  the  cause  of  their  compliance — • 
for  men  have  no  freewill,  —  hence  "  f oreordination ;  " 
they  are  not  saved  by  their  own  merit,  but  each  by 
Christ's  —  hence  "  particular  redemption ;  "  having 
no  will,  they  mut  be  "  called "  and  moved  by  God, 
and  if  elected  must  be  sure  to  come  to  him  —  hence 
"  effectual  calling ;  "  if  to  be  saved,  they  must  cer- 
tainly continue  in  "  grace  "  —  hence  the  "  persever- 
ance of  the  saints."  The  salvation  of  the  "  elect ;  " 
the  damnation  of  the  non-elect,  is  all  effected  by  the 
*'  decrees  of  God ; "  the  "  agency  of  the  Holy  Sirit," 

*  See  Theism,  etc..  Sermon  III.,  IV. 


408  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

the  "  satisfaction  of  Christ,"  all  is  a  work  of  "  divine 

grace." 

The  doctrine  of  the  "  Trinity "  has  always  been 
connected  with  this  system.  It  does  not  embrace  three 
Gods,  as  it  has  been  often  alleged,  but  one  God  in  three 
persons,  as  the  Hindoos  have  one  God  in  thirty  mil- 
lion persons,  and  the  pantheists  one  God  in  all  per- 
sons and  all  things.  The  Father  sits  on  the  throne  of 
his  glory ;  the  Son,  at  his  right  hand,  "  intercedes  " 
for  man ;  the  Holy  Spirit  "  proceeds "  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  "  calls  "  the  saints  and  makes 
them  "  persevere."  This  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  cov- 
ers a  truth,  though  it  often  conceals  it.  Its  religious 
significance  —  the  same  with  that  of  polytheism  — 
seems  to  be  this ;  God  does  not  limit  himself  within  the 
unity  of  his  essence,  but  incarnates  himself  in  man  — 
hence  the  Son ;  diffuses  himself  in  space  and  in  spirit, 
works  with  men  both  to  will  and  to  do  —  hence  the 
Holy  Ghost.* 

1.  Merits  of  this  Farty. 

This  party  has  great  practical  merits.  The  doc- 
trine sketched  above  shows  the  hatefulness  of  sin,  the 
terrible  evils  it  brings  upon  the  world.  Alas,  it  need 
not  look  long  to  see  them.  It  shows  man  at  first  the 
child  of  God;  holding  daily  intercourse  with  the 
Father;  enjoying  the  raptures  of  heaven  on  earth,  but 
by  one  step,  cast  out,  degraded,  lost,  undone!  It 
shows  the  world  full  of  sweet  sunshine,  truth,  beauty, 
love,  till  sin  entered,  and  then  —  "the  trail  of  the 
serpent  is  over  it  all."  It  tells  how  sin  benumbs  the 
mind,  palsies  the  heart,  and  shuts  out  wisdom  at  every 

*  See  Miscellanies,  Art.  XII.  and  Sermon  of  the  Relation  of 
Ecclesiastical  Institutions,  etc. 


THE  CHURCH  409 

entrance,  bringing  death  to  the  intellect,  Jieath  to  the 
affections,  death  to  the  soul.  The  'great  enemy  of 
men  is  the  child  of  sin.  It  tells  man  he  is  the  son  of 
God,  fallen  from  his  high  estate,  and  curshed  by  the 
fall;  but  he  may  yet  return.  Christ  will  bind  up  his 
wounds;  wash  away  all  sin,  with  his  blood,  and  he 
may  start  anew.  It  encourages  men  who  are  steeped 
in  sin;  tells  them  they  may  yet  return.  It  says, 
*'  Come  unto  Christ."  But  alas,  the  wounded  man, 
with  no  freedom,  must  wait  till  the  Holy  Ghost,  like 
the  good  Samaritan,  bind  up  his  wounds  and  bid  him 
rise  and  walk.  If  he  is  of  the  elect,  the  invitation  will 
come,  and  each  hopes  he  is  of  that  blessed  company. 

One  excellence  comes  out  of  its  very  defect:  it 
thinks  none  can  be  saved  but  by  accepting  Christian- 
ity, a  knowledge  of  which  comes  through  the  letter  of 
the  Bible.  Therefore  it  is  indefatigable  in  sending 
Bibles  and  missionaries  the  world  over.  If  they  do 
little  good  where  they  go,  the  very  purpose  and  effort 
are  good.  A  man  is  always  warmed  by  the  smoke  of 
his  own  generous  sacrifice. 

It  recommends  an  austere  morality.  It  calls  on 
men  to  repent ;  addresses  rousing  sermons  to  the  fears 
of  the  wicked,  and  stirs  men  whom  higher  motives 
would  not  move  —  men  who  ask  pay  for  goodness.  It 
has  a  deep  reverence  for  God;  and  counts  religion  a 
reality;  insists  on  a  right  heart.  It  watches  over  sin 
with  a  jealous  eye.  Coming  from  a  principle  so  deep 
as  reverence  for  God;  believing  it  has  all  of  truth  in 
the  lids  of  the  Bible ;  confiding  in  the  intercession  and 
atonement  of  Christ;  setting  before  the  righteous  the 
certainty  of  God's  aid  if  they  are  faithful,  to  assure 
their  perseverance,  and  promising  all  the  rewards  of 
heaven,  it  makes  men  strong,  very  strong.     We  see  its 


410  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

influence,  good  and  bad,  on  some  of  the  fathers  of 
New  England,  in  their  self-denial,  their  penitence, 
their  austere  devotion,  the  unconquerable  daring,  the 
religious  awe  which  marked  those  iron  men. 

2.  The  Vices  of  this  Party. 

If  it  have  great  merits,  it  has  great  faults,  which 
come  from  its  peculiar  doctrine,  while  its  merits  have 
a  deeper  source.  It  makes  God  dark  and  awful;  a 
judge  not  a  protector;  a  king  not  a  Father;  jealous, 
selfish,  vindictive.  He  is  the  Draco  of  the  universe; 
the  author  of  sin,  but  its  unforgiving  avenger.  Man 
must  hate  the  picture  it  makes  of  God.  He  is  the 
Jehovah  of  the  book  of  Numbers,  more  cruel  than 
Odin  or  Baal.  He  punishes  sin  —  though  its  author 
■ — for  his  own  glory,  not  for  man's  benefit  and  cor- 
rection. All  the  lovely  traits  of  divine  character  it 
bestows  upon  the  Son ;  he  is  mild  and  beautiful  as  God 
is  awful  and  morose.  Men  rush  from  the  Father; 
they  flee  to  the  Son.  Its  religion  is  fear  of  God,  not 
love  of  him,  for  man  cannot  love  what  is  not  lovely. 

This  system  degrades  man.  It  deprives  him  of 
freedom.  It  makes  him  not  only  the  dwarf  of  him- 
self —  for  the  actual  man  is  but  the  dwarf  of  the  ideal 
and  possible  man  —  but  a  being  hapless  and  ill-bom ; 
the  veriest  worm  that  crawls  the  globe.  To  take  a 
step  toward  heaven  he  must  deny  his  nature,  and 
crucify  himself.  He  is  bom  totally  depraved,  and 
laden  besides,  with  the  sins  of  Adam.  He  can  do 
nothing  to  recover  from  these  sins;  the  righteousness 
of  Christ  is  the  only  ground  of  the  sinner's  justifica- 
tion ;  this  righteousness  is  received  through  "  faith," 
which  is  the  "  gift  of  God,"  and  so  "  salvation  is 
wholly  of  grace."     The  salvation  of  man  is  wrought 


THE  CHURCH  411 

for  him,  not  by  him.  It  logically  annihilates  the  dif- 
ference between  good  and  evil,  denyihg  the  ultimate 
value  of  a  manly  life.  It  takes  out  of  the  pale  of 
humanity  its  fairest  sons,  prophets,  saints,  apostles, 
Moses,  Jesus,  Paul,  and  makes  their  character  miracu- 
lous, not  manly.  It  tears  off  the  crown  of  royalty 
from  man,  makes  Jesus  a  God;  does  not  tell  us  we 
are  born  sons  of  God,  as  much  as  Jesus,  and  may 
stand  as  close  to  God.  It  does  not  tell  of  God  now, 
near  at  hand,  but  a  long  while  ago.  It  makes  the 
Bible  a  tyrant  of  the  soul.  It  is  our  master  in  all 
departments  of  thought.  Science  must  lay  his  kingly 
head  in  the  dust;  reason  veil  her  majestic  countenance; 
conscience  bow  him  to  the  earth ;  affection  keep  silence 
when  the  priest  uplifts  the  Bible.  Man  is  subordinate 
to  the  apocryphal,  ambiguous,  imperfect,  and  often 
erroneous  Scripture  of  the  Word;  the  Word  itself,  as 
it  comes  straightway  from  the  fountain  of  truth, 
through  reason,  conscience,  affection,  and  the  soul,  he 
must  not  have.  It  takes  the  Bible  for  God's  statute- 
book  ;  combines  old  Hebrew  notions  into  a  code  of 
ethics ;  takes  figures  for  fact ;  settles  questions  in 
morals  and  religion  by  texts  of  scripture!  It  can 
justify  any  thing  out  of  the  Bible.  It  wars  to  the 
knife  against  gaiety  of  heart;  condemns  amusement 
as  sinful ;  sneers  at  common  sense ;  spits  upon  reason, 
calling  it  "  carnal ;"  appeals  to  low  and  selfish  aims  — 
to  fear,  the  most  selfish  and  base  of  all  passions. 
Fear  of  hell  is  the  bloody  knout  with  which  it  scourges 
reluctant  flesh  across  the  finite  world,  and  whips  him 
smarting  into  heaven  at  last.  It  does  not  know  that 
goodness  is  its  own  recompense,  and  vice  its  own 
torture;  that  judgment  takes  place  daily,  and  God's 
laws  execute  themselves.     Shall  I  be  bribed  to  good- 


41£  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

ness  by  hope  of  heaven;  or  driven  by  fear  of  hell? 
It  makes  men  do  nothing  from  the  love  of  what  is 
good,  beautiful,  and  true.  It  asks,  shall  a  man  love 
goodness  as  a  picture,  for  itself?  Its  divine  life  is  but 
a  good  bargain.  It  makes  a  day  of  judgment; 
heaven  and  hell  to  begin  after  death,  while  goodness 
is  heaven,  and  vice  hell,  now  and  forever. 

It  makes  religion  unnatural  to  men,  and  of  course 
hostile;  Christianity  alien  to  the  soul.  It  paves  hell 
with  children's  bones ;  has  a  personal  devil  in  the  world, 
to  harry  the  land,  and  lure  or  compel  men  to  eternal 
woe.  Its  God  is  diabolical.  It  puts  an  intercessor  be- 
tween God  and  man;  relies  on  the  advocate.  Cannot 
the  Infinite  love  his  frail  children  without  teasing? 
Needs  He  a  chancellor,  to  advise  Him  to  use  forgive- 
ness and  mercy?  Can  men  approach  the  Every-where- 
present  only  by  attorney,  as  a  beggar  comes  to  a  Turk- 
ish king?  Away  with  such  folly.  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
bears  his  own  sins,  not  another's.  How  can  his  right- 
eousness be  "  imputed  "  to  me !  Goodness  out  of  me 
is  not  mine;  helps  me  on  more  than  another's  food 
feeds  or  his  sleep  refreshes  me.  Adam's  siuj^ —  it  was 
Adam's  aflPair,  not  mine. 

This  system  applies  to  God  the  language  of  kings' 
courts,  trial,  sentence,  judgment,  pardon,  satisfaction, 
allegiance,  day  of  judgment.  Like  a  courtier  it  lays 
stress  on  forms  —  baptism,  which  in  itself  is  nothing 
but  a  dispensation  of  water,  the  Lord's  supper,  which 
of  itself  is  nothing  but  a  dispensation  of  wine  and 
bread.  It  dwells  in  professions  of  faith ;  watches  for 
God's  honor.  It  makes  men  stiff,  unbending,  cold, 
formal,  austere,  seldom  lovely.  They  have  the 
strength  of  the  law,  not  the  beauty  of  the  gospel;  the 
cunning  of  the  Pharisee;  not  the  simplicity   of  the 


THE  CHURCH  413 

Christian.  You  know  its  followers  soon  as  you  see 
them ;  the  rose  is  faded  out  of  their  cheeks ;  their 
mouths  drooping  and  sad ;  their  appearance  says,  alas, 
my  fellow  worm  I  there  is  no  more  sunshine,  for  the 
world  is  dammed!  It  is  a  faith  of  stern,  morose  men, 
well  befitting  the  descendants  of  Odin,  and  his  iron 
peers;  its  religion  is  a  principle,  not  a  sentiment;  a 
foreign  matter  imported  into  the  soul,  by  forethought 
and  resolution;  not  a  native  fountain  of  joy  and  glad- 
ness, leaping  up  in  winter's  frost,  and  summer's  glad- 
ness, playing  in  the  sober  autumn,  or  the  sunshine  of 
spring.  Its  Christianity  is  frozen  mercury  in  the 
bosom  of  the  warm-hearted  Christian,  who,  by  nature, 
would  go  straight  to  God,  pray  as  spontaneous  as  the 
blackbird  sings,  love  a  thousand  times  where  he  hated 
not  once,  and  count  a  divine  life  the  greatest  good  in 
this  world,  and  ask  nothing  more  in  the  next.  The 
heaven  of  this  system  is  a  grand  pay-day,  where  hu- 
mility is  to  have  its  coach  and  six,  forsooth,  because 
she  has  been  humble;  the  saints  and  martyrs,  who  bore 
trials  in  the  world,  are  to  take  their  vengeance  by 
shouting  "  Hallelujah,  Glory  to  God,"  when  they  see 
the  anguish  of  their  old  persecutors,  and  the  "  smoke 
of  their  torment  ascending  up  forever  and  ever."  Do 
the  joys  of  Paradise  pall  on  the  pleasure- jaded  sense 
of  the  "  elect.''  "  They  look  off  in  the  distance  to  the 
tortures  of  the  damned,  where  destruction  is  naked  be- 
fore them,  and  hell  hath  no  covering;  where  the  devil 
with  his  angels  stirreth  up  the  embers  of  the  fire  which 
is  never  quenched;  where  the  doubters,  whom  the 
ehurch  could  neither  answer  nor  put  to  silence;  where 
the  great  men  of  antiquity,  Confucius,  Buddha, 
Hermes,  Zoroaster,  Pythagoras,  Anaxagoras,  Socrates, 
Plato,  Aristotle ;  where  the  men,  great,  and  gifted,  and 


414         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

glorious,  who  mocked  at  difficulty,  softened  the  moun- 
tains of  despair,  and  hewed  a  path  amid  the  trackless 
waste,  that  mortal  feet  might  tread  the  way  of  peace; 
where  the  great  men  of  modem  times,  who  would  not 
insult  the  deity  by  bowing  to  the  foolish  word  of  a 
hireling  priest  —  where  all  these  writhe  in  their  tor- 
tures, turn  and  turn  and  find  no  ray,  but  yell  in 
fathomless  despair;  and  when  the  elect  behold  all  this, 
they  say,  striking  on  their  harps  of  gold,  "  Aha !  We 
are  comforted  and  thou  are  tormented,  for  the  Lord 
God  omnipotent  reigneth,  and  our  garments  are 
washed  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb." 

This  system  exists  nowhere  in  its  perfection ;  that  is, 
only  ideal.  It  is  incarnated  imperfectly  in  many 
forms.  But  it  is  the  groundwork  of  the  popular  the- 
ology of  New  England.*  It  appears  variously  modi- 
fied in  all  the  chief  denominations  of  North  America 
and  Great  Britain.  No  one  of  all  the  sects  which 
represents  it,  but  has  great  excellences  in  spite  of  this 
hateful  system.  Each  of  them  is  doing  a  good  but 
imperfect  work.  A  rude  nation  must  have  a  rude 
doctrine.  Yet  such  is  the  system  on  which  they  rest 
their  theology.  Though  their  religion,  say  what  they 
will,  comes  from  no  such  quarter.  This  system  is 
older  than  Prostestantism,  and  is  the  child  of  many 
fathers.  However  it  is  continually  approaching  its 
end.  The  battering-ram  which  levelled  the  philosophy 
of  the  Stagirite  and  the  schoolmen,  will  beat,  erelong, 
on  the  theology  of  the  Church,  and  how  shall  it  stand.? 
It  is  based  on  a  lie,  and  that  he  undermined.     A  man 

*  I  have  been  careful  not  to  cite  authorities  lest  individual 
churches  or  writers  should  be  deemed  responsible  for  the  sin 
of  the  mass.    But  I  have  not  spoken  without  book. 


THE  CHURCH  415 

who  loves  wife  and  child,  and  would  die  any  death  to 
save  a  friend,  will  be  slow  to  believe  in  total  depravity ; 
he  that  sees  a  swarm  of  bees  in  summer,  or  hears  the 
blackbird  sing  in  his  honeysuckle,  will  not  believe  God 
is  a  devil,  though  all  the  divines  in  the  Church  quote 
£he  fathers  and  scriptures  to  prove  it.  God  speaks 
truth  always;  will  the  pulpit  prevail  against  Him? 
The  sands  of  this  theology  are  numbered,  and  its  glass 
shaken. 


II.  The  Party  thai  sets  out  from  the  Paternity  of  God. 

This  system  makes  God  not  a  king  but  a  father 
and  mother,  infinite  in  power,  wisdom,  and  love.  His 
love  rays  out  in  every  direction,  seeking  to  bless  the 
all  of  things.  The  world,  its  overarching  heavens,  its 
ocean,  its  mountains,  its  flowers  that  brighten  in  the 
sunbeam ;  the  crimson  and  purple  that  weave  a  lustrous 
veil  for  the  face  of  day,  at  the  rising  and  decline  of 
light;  the  living  things  of  earth,  beast,  bird,  fish,  in- 
sect, so  full  of  happiness  that  the  world  hums  with  its 
joy, —  all  these  it  counts  but  a  whisper  of  God's  good- 
ness, though  all  which  these  babbling  elements  can 
teach.  It  sees  the  same  in  the  Bible,  for  it  will  see 
itself,  and  walks  in  the  shade  of  its  own  halo  of  glory, 
and  so  treads  on  rainbows  where  it  steps. 

This  doctrine  of  God's  goodness  is  a  mighty  truth, 
poorly  apprehended  as  yet,  though  destined  to  a  great 
work,  and  development  which  shall  never  end.  Men 
can  only  see  in  God  what  is  in  themselves.  Their 
conception  of  God  cannot  transcend  their  own  ideal 
stature  of  spirit.  Since  goodness  is  not  active  in  most 
men,  nor  love  predominant,  they  see  God  as  power  to 
be  feared;  at  best  as  wisdom  to  be  reverenced;  not  as 


416         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

goodness  to  be  loved ;  nor  can  they  till  themselves  be- 
come lovely. 

1.     The  Merits  of  this  Parti/, 

The  merits  of  this  system  are  very  great.  It  makes 
goodness  the  cause  of  all.  God  made  the  world  to 
bless  it.  His  love  flowed  forth  a  celestial  stream  that 
sparkles  in  the  sky,  surrounding  the  world.  Apparent 
evils  are  but  good  in  disguise,  save  only  sin,  and  this 
man  brings  on  himself,  through  the  imperfection  of 
his  nature,  progressive  and  free.  Goodness  is  infinite, 
but  sin  and  evil  finite.  It  sees  a  perfect  system  of 
optimism  everywhere.  The  infinite  love  must  desire 
the  best  thing;  the  infinite  wisdom  devise  means  for 
that  end,  and  the  infinite  power  bring  about  the  re- 
sult. All  things  are  overruled  for  good  at  the  last. 
Sin  is  a  point  which  mistaken  men  pass  through  in 
their  development.  Suff*ering  is  man's  instructor.  It 
was  good  for  Isaiah  and  Stephen  and  Paul  to  bear  the 
burdens  they  bore;  affliction  is  success  in  a  mask.  It 
makes  the  world  look  fair  and  the  face  joyful.  It 
hears  the  word  of  love  even  in  the  voice  of  the  earth- 
quake, and  the  tread  of  the  pestilence.  Evil  is  not 
ultimate  but  transient.  It  tells  man  of  his  noble  na- 
ture; his  lofty  duty;  his  fair  destination  if  faithful. 
It  makes  religion  natural  to  man;  bids  him  obey  its 
law  and  be  blessed ;  not  to  be  good  or  do  good  for  fear 
of  hell  or  hope  of  heaven,  but  for  itself.  It  would 
not  have  men  fear  God, —  the  religion  of  the  Old 
Testament;  but  love  him  —  the  rehgion  of  the  New 
Testament.  It  tells  us  we  are  made  for  progressive 
goodness  here,  and  heaven  hereafter.  It  denies 
original  sin,  or  admitting  that,  makes  it  of  no  effect, 
for  Christ  has  restored  all  to  their  first  estate;  thus 


THE  CHURCH  41T 

avoiding  the  logical  absurdity  of  the  last  form.  Its 
hell  is  not  eternal,  for  the  infinite  loVe  of  God  must 
make  the  whole  of  existence  a  blessing  to  each  man. 
God  is  so  lovely  that  we  flee,  as  children,  to  his  arms, 
a  refuge  from  all  the  troubles,  follies,  and  sins  of  life. 
It  shows  this  uncontainable  goodness  in  earth  and  sea 
and  sky ;  in  the  prophets  and  apostles,  sent  to  bless ; 
in  Jesus  the  noble  man  who  came  to  help  the  world  — • 
to  seek  and  save  the  lost.  It  fills  the  soul  with  tran- 
quility, peace,  and  exceeding  trust  in  God.  Serenely 
the  man  goes  about  his  duties ;  is  not  borne  down  with 
his  cross,  though  never  so  weighty ;  looks  on  and  smiles, 
fearing  no  evil  but  error  and  lack  of  faith.  As  he 
looks  back,  he  sees  an  end  of  his  perfection,  but  does 
not  despair  at  the  broadness  of  the  divine  law,  though 
his  steps  totter  in  this  infancy  of  his  being,  for  he  sees 
worlds  open  before  him,  where  a  stronger  sunlight  and 
a  purer  sky  await  him ;  where  reason,  conscience,  the 
affections,  and  the  soul  shall  finish  their  perfect  work, 
and  he  shall  not  be  weary  with  his  walk,  not  faint 
though  he  runs. 

This  system  allows  no  ultimate  evil,  as  a  background 
of  God;  believes  in  no  vindictive  punishment.  The 
woes  of  sin  are  but  its  antidote.  Suffering  comes  from 
wrong-doing,  as  well-being  from  virtue.  If  there  be 
suffering  in  the  next  world,  it  is,  as  in  this,  but  the 
medicine  of  the  sickly  soul.  It  allows  no  contradiction 
between  God's  justice  and  mercy.  We  require  to  be 
reconciled  with  Him,  not  He  with  us.  We  love  Him 
soon  as  seen.  It  makes  religion  inward ;  of  the  life  and 
heart;  the  son's  service,  not  the  slave's;  a  sentiment, 
as  well  as  principle;  an  encouragement  no  less  than  a 
restraint.    God  seeks  to  pour  himself  into  the  heart,  as 

III— 27 


418         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

the  sun  into  the  roses  of  June.     These  are  no  vulgar 
merits.* 

2.     The  Defects  and  Vices  of  this  Party, 

So  far  as  this  system  is  derived  from  its  fundamental 
idea,  it  has  no  defect  nor  vice,  for  the  idea  is  absolute 
and  answers  to  the  fact  that  God  is  good.  But  the  ab- 
surdities of  other  forms  mingle  their  pestilent  breath 
with  the  fragrance  of  truth ;  and  the  party  that  poorly 
espouses  this  divine  idea  has  its  defects.  Men  do  not 
see  the  sinfulness  of  sin;  underrate  the  strength  of 
human  passion,  cupidity,  wrath,  selfishness,  intrenched 
in  the  institutions  of  the  world,  and  belonging  to  the 
present  low  stage  of  civilization.  They  reflect  too  little 
on  the  evil  that  comes  from  violating  the  law  of  God ; 
overlook  the  horrors  of  outraged  conscience,  and  do  not 
remember  that  suffering  must  last  as  long  as  error,  and 
man  only  can  remove  that  from  himself.  They  are 
not  sufficiently  zealous  to  do  good  to  others,  in  a  spirit- 
ual way. 

This  party  has  also  its  redundancies.  It  has  taken 
much  from  the  ungrateful  doctrines  of  the  darker  sys- 
tem. Its  followers  rely  on  authority,  as  all  Prostest- 
ants  have  done.  They  make  a  man  depend  on  Christ, 
who  died  centuries  ago  —  not  on  himself,  who  lives 
now ;  forgetting  that  it  is  not  the  death  of  Jesus  that 
helps  us,  but  the  death  of  sin  in  our  heart ;  not  the  life 
of  Jesus,  the  personal  Christ,  however  divine,  but  the 
life  of  goodness,  holiness,  love,  in  our  own  heart.  A 
Christ  outside  the  man  is  nothing ;  his  divine  life  noth- 
ing. God  is  not  a  magician  to  blot  sin  out  of  the  soul, 
and  make  men  the  same  as  if  they  had  never  sinned. 

*  Theism,  etc..  Sermons  V.-X. 


THE  CHURCH  419 

Each  man  must  be  his  own  Christ,  or  he  is  no  Chris- 
tian. 

No  sect  has  fully  developed  the  doctrine  that  is 
legitimately  derived  from  this  absolute  ideal.  When 
its  time  comes  it  will  annihilate  this  poor  theology  of 
our  time,  and  give  man  his  birthright.  Some  have 
attempted  the  work  in  all  ages,  and  shared  the  fate  of 
men  before  their  time.  Their  bones  lie  mouldering  in 
many  a  spot,  accursed  of  men.  They  bore  a  prophet's 
mission,  and  met  his  fate.  Their  seed  has  not  per- 
ished out  of  the  earth. 

This  doctrine  in  some  measure  tinges  the  faith  of  all 
sects  with  its  rosy  light.  It  abates  the  austerity  of  the 
Calvinist,  the  exclusiveness  of  the  Baptist ;  does  a  great 
work  in  the  camp  of  the  Methodist.  All  churches 
have  some  of  it,  from  the  Episcopalian  to  the  Mormon- 
it  e,  though  in  spite  of  their  theology.  There  is  some- 
thing so  divine  in  religion,  that  it  softens  the  ruggedest 
natures,  and  lets  light  even  into  theology.  The  sects, 
however,  which  chiefly  rely  upon  it,  are  the  Universal- 
ists,  the  Restorationists,  and  Unitarians.  But  how 
poorly  they  do  their  work ;  with  what  curtains  of  dark- 
ness do  they  overcloud  the  holy  of  holies !  What  poor 
ineptitudes  do  they  off^er  us  in  the  midst  of  the  sub- 
limest  doctrines ;  how  does  the  timid  littleness  of  their 
achievement,  or  endeavor,  stand  rebuked  before  abso- 
lute religion ;  before  the  motto  on  the  banner  of  Chris- 
tianity :  God  is  Love  !  What  despair  of  man,  of 
reason,  of  goodness ;  what  bowing  and  cringing  to 
tradition !  Are  not  men  born  in  our  time  as  of  old,  or 
has  a  race  of  Liliputs  and  Manikins  succeeded  to 
Moses,  Socrates,  Jesus,  and  Paul?  But  this  must  pass. 
The  two  former  have  at  their  basis   the   old   super- 


4£0  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

natural  theology,  and  differ  from  the  strictest  sect 
mainly  in  their  exegesis ;  they  would  believe  any  thing 
which  the  Bible  taught.  They  are,  however,  doing  a 
great  work.  But  the  latter  are  of  more  importance  in 
this  respect,  and,  though  few  in  numbers,  deserve  a 
notice  by  themselves. 

Of  the  Umtariams,  and  their  present  Positum. 

At  first  the  "  Unitarian  heresy,"  as  it  was  presump- 
tuously called,  was  a  protest  against  the  unreasonable 
and  unscriptural  doctrines  of  the  Church ;  a  protest  on 
the  part  of  reason  and  conscience ;  an  attempt  to  apply 
good  sense  to  theology,  to  reconcile  knowledge  with 
belief,  reason  with  revelation,  to  humanize  the  Church. 
Its  theology  was  of  the  supernatural  character  mingled 
with  more  or  less  of  naturalism  and  spiritualism.  It 
held  to  the  first  positive  principles  of  the  Reformation 
■ — the  Bible  and  private  judgment.  Contending,  as 
it  must,  with  the  predominant  sects,  then  even  more 
arrogant  and  imperious  than  now  —  perhaps  not  know- 
ing so  well  the  ground  they  stood  on  —  its  work,  like 
most  reformations,  was  at  first  critical  and  negative. 
It  was  a  "  Statement  of  Reasons  for  not  believing  " 
certain  doctrines,  very  justly  deemed  not  scriptural. 
Thus  it  protested  against  the  Trinity,  total  depravity, 
vindictive  and  eternal  punishment,  the  common  doc- 
trines of  the  satisfaction  of  Christ,  the  malevolent 
character  ascribed  to  God  by  the  popular  theology. 
It  recommended  a  deep,  true  morality  lived  for  its 
own  sake;  perhaps  sometimes  confounded  morality 
with  piety.  To  make  sure  of  heaven,  it  demanded  a 
manly  life,  laying  more  stress  on  the  character  than 
the  creed;  more  on  honesty,  diligence,  charity,  than 
on  grace  before  meat,  or  morning  and  evening  pray- 


THE  CHURCH  421 

ers.  In  paint  of  moral  and  religious  life,  as  set  forth 
in  the  two  Great  Commands,  its  advocates  fear  no 
comparison  with  any  sect.  It  was  not  boastful,  but 
modest,  cautious,  unassuming;  mindful  of  its  own  af- 
fairs ;  not  giving  a  blow  for  a  blow,  nor  returning 
abuse  —  of  which  there  was  no  lack  —  with  similiar 
abuse.  It  had  a  great  work  to  do,  and  did  it  nobly. 
The  spirit  of  reformers  was  in  its  leading  men.  The 
sword  of  polemic  theology  rarely  fell  into  more  just 
and  merciful  hands.  But  the  time  has  not  come  to 
celebrate  with  due  honor  the  noble  heart,  the  manly 
forbearance,  the  Christian  heroism  of  those  who  have 
gone  where  the  weary  are  at  rest,  or  who  yet  linger 
here.  They  fought  the  battle  like  Christian  scholars, 
long  and  well.  The  sevenfold  shield  of  orthodoxy  was 
clove  asunder,  spite  of  its  gorgon  head.  Its  terrible 
spear,  with  its  "  five  points,"  was  somewhat  blunted. 

Thus  far  Unitarianism  was  but  carrying  out  the 
principles  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  to  get  at  the 
pure  doctrines  of  Scripture,  which  was  still  the  stand- 
ard of  faith.  Some,  it  seems,  silently  abandoned  the 
divine  and  infallible  character  of  the  Old  Testament 
—  as  Socinus  had  done  —  but  clung  strongly  as  ever 
to  that  of  the  New  Testament,  while  they  admitted 
the  greatest  latitude  in  the  criticism  and  exegesis  of 
that  collection.  The  Unitarians  were  at  first  the  most 
reasonable  of  sectarians.  The  Bible  was  their  creed. 
Thinking  men,  who  would  conclude  for  themselves,  say 
the  Church  what  it  might  say,  naturally  came  up  to 
Unitarianism.  Hence  its  growth  in  the  most  highly 
cultivated  portion  of  the  New  World,  and  the  most 
moral,  it  has  been  said.  Men  sick  of  the  formality, 
the  doctrines,  the  despotism  of  other  sects;  disgusted 
with  the  sophistry  whose  burrow  was  in  the  Church; 


422  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

pained  at  the  charlatanry  which  anointed  dulness  some- 
times showed,  as  the  clerical  mantle  blew  aside,  by 
chance  —  these  also  came  up  to  the  Unitarians.  Be- 
sides these,  perhaps  men  of  no  spiritual  faith,  who 
hated  to  hear  hell  mentioned,  or  to  have  piety  de- 
manded, came  also,  hoping  to  have  less  required  of 
them.  Pious  men,  hungering  and  thirsting  after 
truth  —  men  born  religious,  found  here  their  home, 
where  the  mind  and  the  soul  were  both  promised  their 
rights.  This  explains  the  growth  of  the  sect.  The 
Unitarians,  seeing  the  violence,  the  false  zeal,  of  other 
sects,  the  compassing  of  sea  and  land  to  make  a 
proselyte,  went,  it  may  be  thought,  to  the  opposite 
extreme,  in  some  cases.  They  were  called  "  cold,"  and 
were  never  accused  of  carrying  matters  too  fast  and 
too  far,  and  pushing  religion  to  extremes.  They  were 
never  good  fighters,  unless  when  occasion  compelled. 
They  stood  on  the  defensive,  and  never  crossed  their 
neighbor's  borders  except  to  defend  their  own.  They 
thought  it  better  to  live  down  an  opponent,  than  to 
talk  him  down,  or  even  hew  him  down, —  the  old  theo- 
logical way  of  silencing  an  adversary  whom  it  was 
difficult  to  answer. 

Still,  however,  it  seems  there  always  were  in  their 
ranks  men  who  thought  freedom  was  too  free;  that 
"  there  must  be  limits  to  free  inquiry,"  even  within  the 
canon ;  and  Unitarians  must  have  a  "  creed."  *  Others 
began  to  look  into  the  mythology  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  to  talk  very  freely  about  the  imperfections 
in  the  New  Testament.  Some  even  doubted  if  the 
whale  swallowed  Jonah.  "  Bibical  criticism"  opened 
men's  eyes,  and  "  terrible  questions  "  were  asked ;  great 
problems  were  coming  up  which  Luther  never  antici- 

*  It  has  since  been  made,  and  such  a  creed !     [i.  e.  in  1841.] 


THE  CHURCH  425 

pated,  for  mankind  has  not  stood  still  for  three  cen- 
turies, but  has  studied  science  and  history,  and  learned 
some  things  never  known  before. 

At  length  the  negative  work  was  well  over,  and  the 
hostile  forces  of  other  sects  were  withdrawn,  or  the  war 
changed  into  an  armed  neutrality,  at  most  "  a  war  of 
posts."  The  "  Christian  name,"  however,  is  not  yet 
allowed  the  Unitarians  by  their  foes,  and  a  hearty 
malediction,  a  sly  curse,  or  a  jealous  caution,  shows 
even  at  this  day  the  spirit  that  yet  keeps  its  "  theologi- 
cal odium,"  venomous  as  before.  It  is  no  strange 
thing  for  Unitarians  to  be  pronounced  infidels,  and 
remanded  to  hell  by  their  fellow  Christians !  Now  the 
time  has  come  for  Unitarianism  —  representing  the 
movement  party  in  theological  affairs, —  to  do  some- 
thing; develop  the  truth  it  has  borne,  latent  and  un- 
conscious, in  its  bosom.  It  is  plain  what  the  oc- 
casion demands.  Good  sense  must  be  applied  to 
theology;  religion  applied  to  life,  both  to  be  done 
radically,  fearlessly,  with  honest  earnestness ;  assump- 
tions must  be  adandoned;  the  facts  sought  for;  their 
relation  and  their  law  determined,  and  thus  truth  got 
at.  Did  the  early  reformers  see  all  things ;  are  we  to 
stop  where  they  stopped,  and  because  they  stopped? 
All  false  assumptions  must  be  laid  aside.  The  very 
foundation  of  Protestantism  —  the  infallibility  of 
Scripture  —  is  that  a  fact,  or  a  no-fact  ?  But  this  is 
just  the  thing  that  is  not  done;  which  Unitarianism  is 
not  doing.  The  Trojan  horse  of  sectarian  organiza- 
tion is  brought  into  the  citadel  with  the  usual  effect  up- 
on that  citadel.  The  "  Unitarian  sect "  is  divided. 
There  is  an  "  Old  School,"  and  a  "  New  School,"  as  it 
is  called,  and  a  chasm  between  them,  not  wide,  as  yet, 
but  very  deep.     The  "  Old  School  "  holds  in  part,  to 


424.  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

the  first  principles  of  the  Reformation;  sees  no  fur- 
ther ;  differs  theoretically  from  the  "  Orthodox  "  party, 
in  exegesis,  and  that  alone ;  like  that  is  ready  to  believe 
any  thing  which  has  a  Thus-saith-the-Lord  before  it, 
at  least  if  we  may  judge  from  the  issue  so  often  made; 
its  Christianity  rests  on  the  authority  of  Jesus ;  that  on 
the  authority  of  his  miracles ;  and  his  miracles  on  the 
testimony  of  the  Evangelists.  Therefore  it  is  just  as 
certain  there  is  a  God,  or  an  immortal  soul,  and  relig- 
ious duties,  as  it  is  certain  that  Jesus  raised  Lazarus 
from  the  dead,  or  that  John  wrote  the  fourth  Gospel 
and  never  made  a  mistake  in  it!  It  has  somebody's 
word  for  it.  But  whose?  Its  religious  doctrine  is 
legitimated  only  by  the  sensations  of  the  apostles. 
This  party  says,  as  the  Unitarian  fathers  never  said: 
There  must  be  limits  to  free  inquiry ;  we  must  not  look 
into  the  grounds  of  religious  belief,  lest  they  be  found 
no  grounds ;  "  where  ignorance  is  bliss  't  is  folly  to  be 
wise ! "  The  old  landmarks  must  not  be  passed  by, 
nor  the  Bible  questioned  as  to  its  right  to  be  master 
over  the  soul.  Christianity  must  be  rested  on  the  au- 
thority of  Christ,  and  that  on  the  miracles,  and  the 
words  of  the  New  Testament.  We  must  not  inquire 
into  their  authority.  If  there  is  a  contradiction  be- 
tween the  Word  of  the  New  Testament  and  reason, 
why  the  "  Word,"  must  be  believed  in  spite  of  reason, 
for  we  can  be  much  more  certain  of  what  we  read  than 
of  what  we  know ! 

Thus  the  old  school  assumes  a  position  abhorred  by 
primitive  Unitarianism,  which  declared  that  free  in- 
quiry should  never  stop  but  with  a  conviction  of  truth. 
Unitarianism,  as  represented  by  the  majority  of  its 
adherents,  refuses  to  fall  back  on  absolute  religion 
and  morahty,   with   no   reliance   on   form,   tradition, 


THE  CHURCH  425 

scripture,  personal  authority.     It  creeps  behind  texts, 
usage,  and  does  not  look  facts  in  the  face.     The  cause, 
in  part,  is  plain  as  noonday.     It  is  connected  with  a 
poor   and   sensual   philosophy,   the  same   in   its  basis 
with  that  which  gave  birth  to  the  selfish  system  of 
Paley,   the   skepticism   of   Hume,   the   materialism  of 
Hobbes,  the  denial  of  the  French  Deists;  the  same 
philosophy  which  drives  the  other  sects  in  despair  to 
their  supernatural  theory.     This   cuts   men   off  from 
direct  communion  with  God,  and  curtails  all  their  ef- 
forts.    Unitarianism,  therefore,   is   in   danger  of  be- 
coming a  truncated  supematuralism,   its   apex  shorn 
off;    all    of    supematuralism    but    the    supernatural. 
With  a  philosophy  too  rational  to  go  the  full  length 
of  the  supernatural  theory ;  too  sensual  to  embrace  the 
spiritual  method  and  ask  no  person  to  mediate  between 
man  and  God,  it  oscillates  between  the  two ;  humanizes 
the  Bible,  yet  calls  it  miraculous;  believes  in  man's 
greatness,  freedom,  and  spiritual  nature,  yet  asks  for 
a  mediator  and   redeemer,   and   says,   "  Christ  estab- 
lished a  new  relation  between  man  and  God ;"  it  admits 
man  can  pray  for  himself,  and  God  hear  for  himself, 
and  yet  prays  "  in  the  name  of  Christ,"  and  trusts  an 
"  intercessor."     It  censures  the  traditionary  sects,  yet 
sits  itself  among  the  tombs,  and  mourns  over  things 
past  and  gone;  believes  the  humanity  of  Jesus,  that 
he  was  a  model-man  for  us  all,  yet  his  miraculous  birth 
likewise  and   miraculous   powers,   and  makes   him   an 
anomalous  and  impossible  being.     It  blinds  men's  eyes 
with  the  letter,  yet  bids  them  look  for  the  spirit ;  stops 
their  ears  with  texts  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  then 
asks  them  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  God  in  their  heart; 
it  reverences  Jesus  manfully,  yet  denounces  all  such 
as  preach  absolute  religion  and  morality,  as  he  did,  on 


426  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

its  own  authority,  with  nothing  between  them  and  God, 
neither  tradition  nor  person.  Well  might  a  weeping 
Jeremiah  say  of  it,  "  Alas  for  thee,  now  hast  thou  for- 
saken the  promise  of  thy  youth,  the  joy  of  thine 
espousals !  "  or  with  the  son  of  Sirach,  "  How  wise  wast 
thou  in  thy  youth,  and  as  a  flood  filled  with  under- 
standing. Thy  soul  covered  the  whole  earth;  thy 
name  went  far  unto  the  islands,  and  for  thy  peace  thou 
wast  beloved;  the  countries  marvelled  at  thee  for  thy 
songs  and  proverbs,  and  parables,  and  interpretations ; 
but  by  thy  body  wast  thou  brought  into  subjection; 
thou  didst  stain  thine  honor,  so  that  thou  broughtest 
wrath  upon  thy  children,  and  wast  grieved  for  thy 
folly !  "  It  has  not  kept  its  faith.  It  clings  to  the 
skirts  of  tradition,  which,  "  as  a  scarecrow  in  a  gar- 
den of  cucumbers  —  keepeth  nothing."  It  would  be- 
lieve nothing  not  reasonable,  and  yet  all  things  scrip- 
tural; so  it  will  not  look  facts  in  the  fact,  and  say, 
This  is  in  the  Bible,  yes,  in  the  New  Testament,  but 
out  of  reason  none  the  less.  So  with  perfect  good 
faith,  it  "  explains  away  "  what  is  off*ensive :  "  This 
is  not  in  the  canon.  That  is  a  false  interpretation." 
To  such  a  proficiency  has  this  art  of  explaining  away 
been  carried  that  the  scripture  is  a  piece  of  wax  in  the 
Unitarian  hand,  and  takes  any  shape:  the  devil  is  an 
oriental  figure  of  speech ;  Paul  believed  in  him  no  more 
than  Peter  Bayle;  the  miraculous  birth  of  Jesus,  the 
ascension  in  the  body,  the  stories  of  Abraham,  Jonah, 
Daniel,  are  "  true  as  symbols  not  as  facts ;"  Moses  and 
Isaiah  never  speak  of  Jesus  in  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets,  yet  Jesus  is  right  when  he  says  they  did; 
David  in  the  Psalm  is  a  sick  man,  speaking  only  of 
himself,  but  when  Simon  Peter  quotes  that  Psalm,  the 


THE  CHURCH  427 

inspired  king  is  predicting  Jesus  of  Nazareth !  * 
These  things  are  notorious  facts.  If  the  Athanasian 
creed,  the  thirty-nine  articles  of  the  English  church, 
and  the  Pope's  bull  "  Unigenitus,"  could  be  found  in  a 
Greek  manuscript,  and  proved  the  work  of  an  "  in- 
spired "  apostle,  no  doubt  Unitarianism  would  in  good 
faith  explain  all  three,  and  deny  they  taught  the 
doctrine  of  the  trinity  or  the  fall  of  man.  The  Uni- 
tarian doctrine  of  inspiration  —  can  any  one  tell  what 
it  is.? 

But  let  the  sect  be  weighed  in  an  even  balance,  its 
theological  defects  be  set  off  against  the  vast  service  it 
has  done,  and  is  still  doing  for  morals  and  religion. 
But  this  is  not  the  place  for  its  praise.  Of  the  "  new 
school "  of  Unitarians,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  em- 
bracing as  it  does  men  of  the  greatest  possible  diversity 
of  religious  sentiment  and  opinion  —  it  is  not  decorous 
to  speak  here. 

Now  Unitarianism  must  do  one  of  two  things,  affirm 
the  great  doctrines  of  absolute  religion  —  teaching 
that  man  is  greater  than  the  Bible,  ministry,  or  church, 
that  God  is  still  immanent  in  mankind,  that  man  saves 
himself  by  his  own  and  not  another's  character,  that  a 
perfect  manly  life  is  the  true  service,  and  the  only  ser- 
vice God  requires,  the  only  source  of  well-being  now  or 
ever  —  it  must  do  this,  or  cease  to  represent  the  pro- 
gress of  man  in  theology,  and  then  some  other  will  take 

*  Dr.  Palfrey's  work  on  the  Old  Testament  by  one  of  its 
most  distinguished  scholars,  finds  small  favor  with  this  party, 
though  excepting  the  valuable  works  of  Dr.  Geddes  above  re- 
ferred to,  it  is  the  only  attempt  ever  made  in  the  English 
tongue  to  look  the  facts  of  the  Old  Testament  manfully  in  the 
face! 


428  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

its  office;  stand  God-parent  to  the  fair  child  it  has 
brought  into  the  world,  but  dares  not  own.* 

To  sum  up  what  has  been  said: — we  see  that  the 
Catholic  and  the  Prostestant  party  both  start  with  a 
false  assumption,  the  divinity  of  the  churches,  or  that 
of  the  Bible;  both  claim  mastery  over  the  soul;  but 
both  fail  to  give  or  allow  the  absolute  religion.  Both 
set  bounds  to  man,  which  must  be  reached  if  they  are 
not  already.  Both  represent  great  truths,  out  of 
which  their  excellence  and  power  proceed,  but  both 
great  falsehoods,  which  impoverish  their  excellence. 
Each  is  too  narrow  for  the  soul;  should  the  persons 
who  sit  in  these  churches  rise  to  the  stature  of  men, 
they  must  carry  away  roof  and  steeple,  for  man  is 
greater  than  the  churches  he  allows  to  tyrannize  over 
him. 

*The  above  was  written  in  1841,  since  then  the  American 
Unitarians,  as  a  body,  have  retreated  still  further  back,  siding 
with  Mediaeval  theology  and  American  slavery. 


CHAPTER  VI 

OF  THE  PARTY  THAT  ARE  NEITHER  CATH- 
OLICS NOR  PROTESTANTS 

This  party  has  an  idea  wider  and  deeper  than  that 
of  the  Catholic  or  Protestant,  namely;  that  God  still 
inspires  men  as  much  as  ever;  that  he  is  immanent  in 
spirit  as  in  space.  For  the  present  purpose,  and  to 
avoid  circumlocution,  this  doctrine  may  be  called  Spir- 
itualism. This  relies  on  no  church,  tradition,  or  scrip- 
ture, as  the  last  ground  and  infallible  rule;  it  counts 
these  things  teachers,  if  they  teach,  not  masters ;  helps, 
if  they  help  us,  not  authorities.  It  relies  on  the  di- 
vine presence  in  the  nature  of  man ;  the  eternal  word 
of  God,  which  is  truth,  as  it  speaks  through  the  fac- 
ulties he  has  given.  It  believes  God  is  near  the  soul, 
as  matter  to  the  sense;  thinks  the  canon  of  revelation 
not  yet  closed,  nor  God  exhausted.  It  sees  him  in 
nature's  perfect  work;  hears  him  in  all  true  scripture, 
Jewish  or  Phoenician ;  feels  him  in  the  aspiration  of 
the  heart;  stoops  at  the  same  fountain  with  Moses  and 
Jesus,  and  is  filled  with  living  water.  It  calls  God 
father  and  mother,  not  King;  Jesus  brother,  not  re- 
deemer; Heaven  home;  religion  nature.  It  loves  and 
trusts,  but  does  not  fear.  It  sees  in  Jesus,  a  man  liv- 
ing manlike,  highly  gifted,  though  not  without  errors, 
and  living  with  earnest  and  beautiful  fidelity  to  God, 
stepping  thousands  of  years  before  the  race  of  men; 
the  profoundest  religious  genius  God  has  raised  up, 
whose  words  and  works  help  us  to  form  and  develop 
the  idea  of  a  complete  religious  man.     But  he  lived 

429 


430  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

for  himself ;  died  for  himself ;  worked  out  his  own  sal- 
vation, and  we  must  do  the  same,  for  one  man  can- 
not live  for  another  more  than  he  can  eat  or  sleep  for 
him.  It  is  no  personal  Christ  but  the  spirit  of  wisdom, 
holiness,  love,  that  creates  the  well-being  of  men;  a 
life  at  one  with  God.  The  divine  incarnation  is  in  aU 
mankind. 

The  aim  it  proposes  is  a  complete  union  of  man 
with  God,  till  every  action,  thought,  wish,  feeling  is  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  divine  will.  The  "  Chris- 
tianity "  it  rests  in,  is  not  the  point  man  goes  through 
in  his  progress,  as  the  rationalist,  not  the  point  God 
goes  through  in  his  development,  as  the  supernaturalist 
maintains ;  but  absolute  religion,  the  point  where  man's 
will  and  God's  will  are  one  and  the  same.  Its  source 
is  absolute,  its  aim  absolute,  its  method  absolute.  It 
lays  down  no  creed;  asks  no  symbol;  reverences  ex- 
clusively no  time  nor  place,  and  therefore  can  use  all 
time  and  every  place.  It  reckons  forms  useful  to  such 
as  they  help ;  one  man  may  commune  with  God  through 
the  bread  and  the  wine,  emblems  of  the  body  that  was 
broke,  and  the  blood  that  was  shed,  in  the  cause  of 
truth ;  another  may  hold  communion  through  the  moss 
and  the  violet,  the  mountain,  the  ocean,  or  the  scripture 
of  suns,  which  God  has  writ  in  the  sky;  it  does  not 
make  the  means  the  end ;  it  prizes  the  signification  more 
than  the  sign.  It  knows  nothing  of  that  puerile  dis- 
tinction between  reason  and  revelation ;  never  finds  the 
alleged  contradiction  between  good  sense  and  religion. 
Its  temple  is  all  space;  its  shrine  the  good  heart;  its 
creed  all  truth ;  its  ritual  works  of  love  and  utility ;  its 
profession  of  faith  a  manly  life,  works  without,  faith 
within,  love  of  God  and  man.  It  bids  man  do  duty, 
and  take   what  comes   of   it,   grief  or   gladness.     In 


THE  CHURCH  431 

every  desert  it  opens  fountains  of  living  water;  gives 
balm  for  every  wound,  a  pillow  in  all  tempests;  tran- 
quility in  each  distress.  It  does  good  for  goodness' 
sake ;  asks  no  pardon  for  its  sins,  but  gladly  serves  out 
the  time.  It  is  meek  and  reverent  of  truth,  but  scorns 
all  falsehood,  though  upheld  by  the  ancient  and  hon- 
orable of  the  earth.  It  bows  to  no  idols,  of  wood,  or 
flesh,  of  gold  or  parchment,  or  spoken  wind;  neither 
mammon,  neither  the  church,  nor  the  Bible,  nor  yet 
Jesus,  but  God  only.  It  takes  all  helps  it  can  get; 
counts  no  good  word  profane  though  a  heathen  spoke 
it ;  no  lie  sacred,  though  the  greatest  prophet  had  said 
the  word.  Its  redeemer  is  within ;  its  salvation  within ; 
its  heaven  and  its  oracle  of  God.  It  falls  back  on 
perfect  religion ;  asks  no  more ;  is  satisfied  with  no 
less.  The  personal  Jesus  is  its  encouragement,  for 
he  helps  reveal  the  possible  of  man.  Its  watchword 
is,  BE  PERFECT  AS  GoD.  With  its  eye  on  the  Infinite, 
it  goes  through  the  striving  and  the  sleep  of  life ;  equal 
to  duty,  not  above  it ;  fearing  not  whether  the  ephem- 
eral wind  blow  east  or  west.  It  has  the  strength  of 
the  hero ;  the  tranquil  sweetness  of  the  saint.  It  makes 
each  man  his  own  priest;  but  accepts  gladly  him  that 
speaks  a  holy  word.  Its  prayer  in  words,  in  works, 
in  feeling,  in  thought,  is  this,  Thy  will  be  done;  its 
church  that  of  all  holy  souls,  the  church  of  the  first- 
born, called  by  whatever  name.* 

Let  others  judge  the  merits  and  defects  of  this 
scheme.  It  has  never  organized  a  church;  yet  in  all 
ages,  from  the  earliest,  men  have,  more  or  less  freely, 
set  forth  its  doctrines.     We  find  these  men  among  the 

*  It  is  unnecessary  to  enlarge  on  this  scheme,  since  so  much 
has  been  said  of  it  already.  See  Book  I.,  ch.  VII.  §  3,  and 
Book  II.  ch.  VIII.  and  Book  III.  ch.  V.  VI. 


4S2         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

'dispised  and  forsaken.  The  world  was  not  ready  to 
receive  them.  They  have  been  stoned  and  spit  upon  in 
all  the  streets  of  the  world.  The  "  pious  "  have  burned 
them  as  haters  of  God  and  man ;  the  "  wicked  "  called^ 
them  bad  names  and  let  them  go.  They  have  served 
to  flesh  the  swords  of  the  Catholic  Party,  and  feed  the 
fires  of  the  Protestant.  But  flame  and  steel  will  not 
consume  them.  The  seed  they  have  sown  is  quick  in 
many  a  heart;  their  memory  blessed  by  such  as  live 
divine.  These  were  the  men  at  whom  the  world  opens 
wide  the  mouth  and  draws  out  the  tongue  and  utters 
its  impotent  laugh;  but  they  received  the  fire  of  God 
on  their  altar,  and  kept  living  its  sacred  flame.  They 
go  on  the  forlorn  hope  of  the  race;  but  truth  puts  a 
wall  of  fire  about  them  and  holds  the  shield  over  their 
head  in  the  day  of  trouble.  The  battle  of  truth  seems 
often  lost,  but  is  always  won.  Her  enemies  but  erect 
the  bloody  scaffolding  where  the  workmen  of  God  go 
up  and  down,  and  with  divine  hands  build  wiser  than 
they  know.  When  the  scaffolding  falls  the  temple  will 
appear. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE  FINAL  ANSWER  TO  THE  QUESTION 

Now  then,  if  it  be  asked,  what  relation  the  church 
sustains  to  the  rehgious  element,  the  answer  is  plain: 
The  soul  is  greater  than  the  church.  Religion,  as 
reason,  is  of  God;  the  absolute  religion,  and  therefore 
eternal,  based  on  God  alone;  the  Christian  churches, 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  are  of  men,  and  therefore 
transient.  Let  them  say  their  say ;  man  is  God's  child, 
and  free  of  their  tyranny ;  he  must  not  accept  their 
limitations,  nor  bow  to  their  authority,  but  go  on  his 
glorious  way.  The  churches  are  a  human  affair  quite 
as  much  as  the  state;  ecclesiastical,  like  political  in- 
stitutions, are  changeable,  human,  subject  to  the  ca- 
prices of  public  opinion.  The  divine  right  of  kings 
to  bear  sway  over  the  body,  and  the  divine  right  of  the 
churches  to  rule  over  the  soul,  both  rest  on  the  same 
foundation  —  on  a  me. 

The  Christian  church,  like  fetichism  and  polythe- 
ism, like  the  state,  has  been  projected  out  of  man  in 
his  development  and  passage  through  the  ages;  its 
several  phases  correspond  to  man's  development  and 
civilization,  and  are  inseparable  from  it.  They  are  the 
index  of  the  condition  of  man.  They  bear  their  justi- 
fication in  themselves.  They  could  not  have  been  but 
as  they  were.  To  censure  or  approve  Catholicism,  or 
Protestantism,  is  to  censure  or  approve  the  state  of  the 
race  which  gave  rise  to  these  forms ;  to  condemn  ab- 
lute  religion,  called  by  whatever  name,  is  to  condemn 

both  man  and  God. 
Ill— 28 


434  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

Jesus  fell  back  on  God,  aiming  to  teach  absolute 
religion,  absolute  morality;  the  truth  its  own  author- 
ity, his  works  his  witness.  The  early  Christians  fell 
back  on  the  authority  of  Jesus ;  their  successors,  on  the 
Bible,  the  work  of  the  apostles  and  prophets ;  the  next 
generation  on  the  church;  the  work  of  apostles  and 
fathers.  The  world  retreads  this  ground.  Protes- 
tantism delivers  us  from  the  tyranny  of  the  church,  and 
carries  us  back  to  the  Bible.  Biblical  criticism  frees 
us  from  the  thraldom  of  the  scripture,  and  brings  us  to 
the  authoirity  of  Jesus.  Philosophical  Spiritualism 
liberates  us  from  all  personal  and  finite  authority,  and 
restores  us  to  God,  the  primeval  fountain,  whence  the 
church,  the  scriptures,  and  Jesus  have  drawn  all  the 
water  of  life,  wherewith  they  filled  their  urns.  Thence, 
and  thence  only,  shall  mankind  obtain  absolute  religion 
and  spiritual  well-being.  Is  this  a  retreat  for  man- 
kind? No,  it  is  progress  without  end.  The  race  of 
men  never  before  stood  so  high  as  now ;  with  suffering, 
tears,  and  blood  they  have  toiled,  through  barbarism 
and  war,  to  their  present  height,  and  we  see  the  world 
of  promise  opening  upon  our  eye.  But  what  is  not 
behind  is  before  us. 

Institutions  arise  as  they  are  needed,  and  fall  when 
their  work  is  done.  Of  these  things  nothing  is  fixed. 
Institutions  are  provisional,  man  only  is  final-  Corpo- 
real despotism  is  getting  ended ;  will  the  spiritual  tyr- 
anny last  for  ever?  A  will  above  our  puny  strength, 
marshals  the  race  of  men,  using  our  freedom,  virtue, 
folly,  as  instruments  to  one  vast  end  —  the  harmoni- 
ous development  of  man.  We  see  the  art  of  God  in 
the  web  of  a  spider,  and  the  cell  of  a  bee,  but  have  not 
skill  to  discern  it  in  the  march  of  man.  We  repine 
at  the  slowness  of  the  future  in  coming,  or  the  swiftness 


THE  CHURCH  435 

of  the  past  in  fleeing  away;  we  sigji  for  the  fabled 
"  Millennium  "  to  advance,  or  pray  time  to  restore  us 
the  age  of  gold.  It  avails  nothing.  We  cannot  hurry 
God,  nor  retard  him.  Old  schools  and  new  schools  seem 
as  men  that  stand  on  the  shore  of  some  Atlantic  bay, 
and  shout,  to  frighten  back  the  tide,  or  urge  it  on. 
What  boots  their  cry  ?  Gently  the  sea  swells  under  the 
moon,  and,  in  the  hour  of  God's  appointment,  the 
tranquil  tide  rolls  in,  to  inlet  and  river,  to  lave  the 
rocks,  to  bear  on  its  bosom  the  ship  of  the  merchant, 
the  weeds  of  the  sea.  We  complain,  as  our  fathers ; 
let  us  rather  rejoice,  for  questions  less  weighty  than 
these  have  in  other  ages  been  disposed  of  only  with  the 
point  of  the  sword,  and  the  thunder  of  cannon  —  put 
off^,  not  settled. 

If  the  opinions  advanced  in  this  discourse  be  correct, 
then  religion  is  above  all  institutions,  and  can  never 
fail ;  they  shall  perish,  but  religion  endure ;  they  shall 
wax  old  as  a  garment ;  they  shall  be  changed,  and  the 
places  that  knew  them  shall  know  them  no  more  for- 
ever; but  religion  is  ever  the  same,  and  its  years  shall 
have  no  end. 


THE  CONCLUSION 


437 


"Changes  are  coming  fast  upon  the  world.  In  the  violent 
struggle  of  opposite  interests,  the  decaying  prejudices  that  have 
bound  men  together,  in  the  old  forms  of  society,  are  snapping 
asunder,  one  after  another.  Must  we  look  forward  to  a  hope- 
less succession  of  evils,  in  which  exasperated  parties  will  be 
alternately  victors  and  victims,  till  all  sink  under  some  one 
power,  whose  interest  it  is  to  preserve  a  quiet  despotism?  Who 
can  hope  for  a  better  result,  unless  the  great  lesson  be  learnt, 
that  there  can  be  no  essential  improvement  in  the  condition  of 
society,  without  the  improvement  of  men  as  moral  and  re- 
ligious beings;  and  that  this  can  be  effected  only  by  religious 
Truth?  To  expect  this  improvement  from  any  form  of  false 
religion,  because  it  is  called  religion,  is  as  if,  in  administering 
to  one  in  a  fever,  we  were  to  take  some  drug  from  an  apothe- 
cary's shelves,  satisfied  with  its  being  called  medicine." — An- 
drews Norton. —  Statement  of  Reasons,  etc.  Preface,  p.  xxii.- 
xxxiii. 

"  What  greater  calamity  can  fall  upon  a  nation  than  the  loss 
of  worship?  Then  all  things  go  to  decay.  Genius  leaves  the 
temple  to  haunt  the  senate,  or  the  market.  Literature  becomes 
frivolous.  Science  is  cold.  The  eye  of  youth  is  not  lighted 
by  the  hope  of  other  worlds,  and  age  is  without  honor.  In 
the  soul  let  the  redemption  be  sought.  In  one  soul,  in  your 
soui,  there  are  resources  for  the  world.  The  stationariness  of 
religion,  the  assumption  that  the  age  of  inspiration  is  passed, 
that  the  Bible  is  closed;  the  fear  of  degrading  the  character 
of  Jesus,  by  representing  him  as  a  man,  indicate  with  sufficient 
clearness  the  falsehood  of  our  theology.  It  is  the  office  of  a 
true  teacher,  to  show  us  that  God  is,  not  was;  that  he  speaketh, 
not  spake.  The  true  Christianity  —  a  faith  like  Christ's  in  the 
infinitude  of  man  —  is  lost.  None  believeth  in  the  soul  of  man, 
but  only  in  some  man,  or  person  old  and  departed." —  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson. —  Address  in  Divinity  College,  etc.,  p.  24r-25, 


.438 


THE  CONCLUSION 
I.  OF  THE  POPULAR  THEOLOGY 

Theology  is  the  science  of  rehgion.  It  treats  of 
man,  God,  and  the  relation  between  man  and  God,  with 
the  duties  which  grow  out  of  that  relation.  It  is  both 
queen  and  mother  of  all  science;  the  loftiest  and  most 
ennobling  of  all  the  speculative  pursuits  of  man.  But 
the  popular  theology  of  this  day  is  no  science  at  all, 
but  a  system  of  incoherent  notions,  woven  together  by 
scholastic  logic,  and  resting  on  baseless  assumptions. 
The  pursuit  thereof  in  the  ecclesiastical  method  does 
not  elevate.  There  is  in  it  somewhat  not  holy.  It  is 
not  studied  as  science,  with  no  concern  except  for  the 
truth  of  the  conclusion.  We  wish  to  find  the  result  as 
we  conceived  it  to  be ;  as  Bishop  Butler  has  said,  "  Peo- 
ple habituate  themselves  to  let  things  pass  through 
their  minds,  rather  than  to  think  of  them.  Thus  by 
use  they  become  satisfied  merely  with  seeing  what  is 
said  without  going  any  further."  Our  theology  has 
two  great  idols,  the  Bible  and  Christ  ;  by  worshiping 
these,  and  not  God,  only,  we  lose  much  of  the  truth  they 
both  offer  us.  Our  theology  relies  on  assumptions,  not 
ultimate  facts ;  so  it  comes  to  no  certain  conclusions ; 
weaves  cobwebs,  but  no  cloth. 

The  popular  theology  rests  on  these  main  assump- 
tions; the  divinity  of  the  churches,  and  the  divinity 
of  the  Bible.  What  is  the  value  of  each?  It  has 
been  found  convenient  to  assume  both.  Then  it  has 
several  important  aphorisms,  which  it  makes  use  of  as 
if  they  were  established  truths,  to  be  employed  as  the 

439 


440  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

maxims  of  geometry,  and  no  more  to  be  called  in 
question.  Amongst  these  are  the  following:  Man 
under  the  light  of  nature  is  not  capable  of  discovering 
the  moral  and  religious  truth  needed  for  his  moral  and 
religious  welfare ;  there  must  be  a  personal  and  mirac- 
ulous mediator  between  each  man  and  God;  a  life  of 
blameless  obedience  to  the  law  of  man's  nature  will  not 
render  us  acceptable  to  God,  and  insure  our  well-being 
in  the  next  life;  we  need  a  superhuman  being  to  bear 
our  sins,  through  whom  alone  we  are  saved ;  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  is  that  superhuman,  and  miraculous,  and  sin- 
reconciling  mediator;  the  doctrine  he  taught  is  re- 
vealed religion,  which  differs  essentially  from  natural 
religion ;  an  external  and  contingent  miracle  is  the  only 
proof  of  an  eternal  and  necessary  truth  in.  morals 
or  religion;  God  formerly  transcended  the  laws  of 
nature  and  made  a  miraculous  revelation  of  some  truth ; 
he  does  not  now  inspire  men  as  formerly.  Each  of 
these  aphorisms  is  a  gratuitous  assumption,  which 
has  never  been  proved,  and  of  course  all  the  theological 
deductions  made  from  the  aphorisms,  or  resting  on 
these  two  main  assumptions,  are  without  any  real 
foundation.  Theologians  have  assumed  their  facts, 
and  then  reasoned  as  if  the  fact  were  established,  but 
the  conclusion  was  an  inference  from  a  baseless  assump- 
tion. Thus  it  accounts  for  nothing.  "  We  only  be- 
come certain  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  from  the 
fact  of  Christ's  resurrection,"  says  theology.  Here 
are  two  assumptions :  first,  the  fact  of  that  resurrection, 
second,  that  it  proves  our  immortality.  If  we  ask 
proof  of  the  first  point,  it  is  not  easy  to  come  by ;  of 
the  second,  it  is  not  shown.  The  theological  method 
is  false;  for  it  does  not  prove  its  facts  historically, 
or  verify   its  conclusions  philosophically.     The  Hin- 


THE  CONCLUSION  441 

doo  theory  says,  the  earth  rests  on  the  back  of  an  ele- 
phant, the  elephant  on  a  tortoise.  But  what  does  the 
tortoise  rest  upon?  The  great  turtle  of  popular  the- 
ology rests  on  —  an  assumption.  Who  taught  us  the 
infallible  divinity  of  the  Bible,  or  the  churches? 
"  Why,  we  always  thought  so.  We  inherited  the  opin- 
ion, as  land,  from  our  fathers,  to  have  and  to  hold,  for 
our  use  and  behoof,  for  ourselves,  and  our  heirs  forever. 
Would  you  have  a  better  title?  We  are  regularly 
'  seized '  of  the  doctrine ;  it  came,  with  the  divine  right 
of  kings,  from  our  fathers,  who  by  the  grace  of  God, 
burnt  men  for  doubting  the  truth  of  their  theology ! " 
This  is  the  defense  of  the  popular  theology.  We  have 
freedom  in  civil  affairs,  can  revise  our  statutes,  change 
the  administration,  or  amend  the  constitution.  Have 
we  freedom  in  theological  affairs,  to  revise,  change, 
amend  a  vicious  theology?  We  have  always  been  do- 
ing it,  but  only  by  halves,  not  looking  at  the  founda- 
tion of  the  matter.  We  have  applied  good-sense  to 
many  things,  agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures,  and 
with  distinguished  success ;  not  yet  to  theology.  We 
make  improvements  in  science  and  art  every  year. 
Men  survey  the  clouds,  note  the  variations  of  the  mag- 
netic needle,  analyze  rocks,  waters,  soils,  and  do  not 
fear  truth  shall  hurt  them  though  it  make  Hipparchus 
and  Cardan  unreadable.  Our  method  of  theology  is 
false  no  less  than  its  asumptions.  What  must  we  ex- 
pect of  the  conclusion  ?     What  we  find. 

If  a  school  were  founded  to  teach  geology,  and  the 
professors  of  that  science  were  required  to  subscribe  the 
geological  symbol  of  Aristotle  or  Paracelsus,  and  swear 
solemnly  to  interpret  facts  by  that  obsolete  creed,  and 
maintain  and  inculcate  the  geological  faith  as  expressed 
in  that  creed,  in  opposition  to  Wernerians,  Buckland- 


44S         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

ians,  Lyellians,  and  all  other  geological  "  heresies,"  an- 
cient or  modern ;  if  the  professors  were  required  to  sub- 
scribe this  every  five  years,  and  no  pupil  was  allowed 
the  name  of  geologist,  or  permitted  peacefully  to  ex- 
amine a  rock,  unless  he  professed  that  creed,  what 
would  men  say  to  the  matter?  No  one  thinks  such  a 
course  strange  in  theology;  our  fathers  did  so  before 
us.  In  plain  English,  we  are  afraid  of  the  truth- 
"  God  forbid,"  said  a  man  famous  in  his  day,  "  that 
our  love  of  truth  should  be  so  cold  as  to  tolerate  any 
erroneous  opinion  " —  but  our  own.  Any  change  is 
looked  on  with  suspicion.  If  the  drift-weed  of  the 
ocean  be  hauled  upon  the  land,  men  fear  the  ocean  will 
be  drank  up,  or  blown  dry ;  if  the  pine-tree  rock,  they 
exclaim,  the  mountain  falling  cometh  to  naught.  How 
superstitiously  men  look  on  the  miracle-question,  as 
if  the  world  could  not  stand  if  the  miracles  of  the  New 
Testament  were  not  real! 

The  popular  theology  does  not  aim  to  prove  ab- 
solute religion,  but  a  system  of  doctrines  made  chiefly 
of  words.  Now  the  problem  of  theology  is  continually 
changing.  In  the  time  of  Moses  it  was  this :  To  sep- 
arate religion  from  the  fetichism  of  the  Cannanites, 
and  the  polytheism  of  the  Egyptians,  and  connect  it 
with  the  doctrine  of  one  God.  No  doubt  Jannes  and 
Jambres  exclaimed  with  pious  horror,  what,  give  up 
the  garlic  and  the  cats  which  our  fathers  prayed  to, 
and  swore  by !  we  shall  never  be  guilty  of  that  infidelity. 
But  the  priesthood  of  garlic  came  to  an  end,  and  the 
world  still  continued,  though  the  cats  were  not  wor- 
shipped. In  the  time  of  Jesus,  the  problem  was:  to 
separate  religion  from  the  obsolete  ritual  of  Moses. 
We  know  the  result;  the  scribes  and  pharisees  were 
shocked  at  the  thought  of  abandoning  the  ritual  of 


THE  CONCLUSION  MS 

Moses !  But  the  ritual  went  its  way.  In  the  time  of 
Luther  a  new  problem  arose;  to  separate  religion  from 
the  forms  of  the  Catholic  church.  The  issue  is  well 
known.  In  our  times  the  problem  is  to  separate  re- 
ligion from  whatever  is  finite,  church,  book,  person, 
and  let  it  rest  on  its  absolute  truth.*  Numerous 
questions  come  up  for  discussion:  Is  Christianity  ab- 
solute religion  .f^  What  relation  does  Jesus  bear  to  the 
human  race?  What  relation  does  the  Bible  sustain 
to  it-f*  We  have  nothing  to  fear  from  truth,  or  for 
truth,  but  every  thing  to  hope-  It  is  about  theology 
that  men  quarrel,  not  about  religion;  that  is  but  one. 

II.  OF  THE  POPULAR  CHRISTIANITY. 

Coming  away  from  the  theology  of  our  time,  and 
looking  at  the  public  virtue,  as  revealed  in  our  life, 
political,  commerical,  and  social,  and  seeing  things  as 
they  are,  we  must  come  to  this  conclusion ;  either 
Christianity  —  considered  as  the  absolute  religion  —  is 
false  and  utterly  detestable,  or  else  modem  society,  in 
its  basis  and  details,  is  wrong,  very  wrong.  There  is 
no  third  conclusion  possible.  Religion  demands  a 
divine  life ;  society  one  mean  and  earthly.  Religion 
says  —  its  great  practical  maxim  —  we  that  are  strong 
ought  to  bear  the  burdens  of  the  weak;  society,  we 
that  are  strong  must  make  the  weak  bear  our  burdens, 
and  do  this  daily.  The  strong  do  not  always  compel 
the  weak  as  heretofore,  with  a  sword,  nor  violently 
bind  them  mainly  in  fetters  of  iron ;  they  compel  with 
an  idea,  and  chain  with  manacles  unseen,  but  felt.  Men 
most  eminent  in  defense  of  the  popular  theology  are 
loudest   in   support   of   American   slavery.     Hell   and 

*  See  Miscellanies,  Art.  XII. 


444         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

slavery  are  their  favorite  dogmas!  Who  'does  the 
world's  work ;  he  that  receives  most  largely  the  world's 
good?  It  needs  not  that  truisms  be  repeated.  Now 
it  is  a  high  word  of  Christianity,  he  that  is  greatest 
shall  be  your  servant.  What  is  the  corresponding  word 
of  society?  Everybody  knows  it.  Do  we  estimate 
greatness  in  this  way,  by  the  man's  achievements  for 
the  public  welfare?  Oh  no,  we  have  no  such  vulgar 
standard !  Men  of  "  superior  talents  and  cultivation," 
do  we  expect  them  to  be  great  by,  serving  mankind? 
Nay,  by  serving  themselves ! 

Religion  is  love  of  God  and  man.  Is  that  the  basis 
of  action  with  us?  A  young  man  setting  out  in  life, 
and  choosing  his  calling,  says  this  to  himself:  How 
can  I  get  the  most  ease  and  honors  out  of  the  world, 
returning  the  least  of  toil  and  self-denial?  That  is  the 
philosophy  of  many  a  life ;  the  very  end  of  even  what 
is  called  the  "better  class  "  of  society.  Who  says.  This 
will  I  do;  I  will  be  a  man,  a  whole  complete  man,  as 
God  made  me;  take  care  of  myself,  but  serve  my 
brother,  counting  my  strength  also  his,  not  merely  his 
MINE ;  I  will  take  nothing  from  the  world  which  is  not 
honestly,  truly,  manfully  earned?  Who  puts  his  feet 
forward  in  such  a  life?  We  call  such  a  man  a  fool. 
Yes,  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  a  fool,  tried  by  the  penny- 
wisdom  of  this  generation.  We  honor  him  in  our 
Sunday  talk;  hearing  his  words,  say  solemnly  as  the 
parasites  of  Herod :  "  It  is  the  voice  of  a  God,  not  of 
a  man !  "  and  smite  a  man  on  both  cheeks,  who  does  not 
cry  amen.  But  all  the  week  long,  we  blaspheme  that 
great  soul,  who  speaks  though  dead,  and  call  his  word, 
a  fool's  talk.  That  is  the  popular  Christianity.  We 
pray  as  well  as  the  old  Pharisee,  "  Lord  we  thank  thee 
we  are  not  as  other  men,  as  the  heathen  Socrates,  who 


THE  CONCLUSION      '  445 

knew  nothing,  as  the  *  infidel '  who  cannot  believe  con- 
tradictions and  absurdities.  We  say  grace  before 
meat ;  attend  to  all  the  church-ordinances ;  can  repeat 
the  creed,  and  we  believe  every  word  of  both  thy  testa- 
ments; Oh  Lord,  what  wouldst  thou  more?  We  have 
fulfilled  all  righteousness." 

Alas  for  us!  We  have  taken  the  name  of  Jesus  in 
our  church  and  psalm-singing.  We  can  say  "  Lord, 
Lord,  no  man  ever  spake  as  thou."  But  our  Chris- 
tianity is  talk ;  it  is  not  in  the  heart,  nor  the  hand,  nor 
the  head,  but  only  in  the  tongue.  Could  that  great 
man,  whose  soul  bestrides  the  world  to  bless  it,  come 
back  again,  and  speak  in  bold  words,  to  our  condition, 
follies,  sins,  his  denunciation  and  his  blest  beautitudes, 
rooting  up  with  his  "  Woe-unto-you  hypocrites,"  what 
was  not  of  God's  planting,  and  calling  things  by  right 
names  —  how  should  we  honor  him  ?  As  Annas  and 
Caiaphas  and  their  fellows  honored  that  "  Galilean, 
and  no  prophet," —  with  spitting  and  a  cross.  But  it 
costs  little  to  talk  and  to  pray. 

A  divine  manliness  is  the  despair  of  our  churches. 
No  man  is  reckoned  good  who  does  not  believe  in  sin, 
and  human  inability.  We  seem  to  have  said :  — "  Alas 
for  us !  We  defile  our  weekdays  by  selfish  and  unclean 
living;  we  dishonor  our  homes,  by  low  aims  and  lack 
of  love;  by  sensuality  and  sin.  We  debase  the  ster- 
ling word  of  God  in  our  soul;  we  cannot  discern  be- 
tween good  and  evil,  nor  read  nature  aright ;  nor  come 
at  first-hand  to  God ;  therefore  let  us  set  one  day  apart 
from  our  work;  let  us  build  us  a  house  which  we  will 
enter  only  on  that  day  trade  does  not  tempt  us ;  let  us 
take  the  wisest  of  books,  and  make  it  our  oracle;  let  it 
save  us  from  thought,  and  be  to  us  as  a  God ;  let  us  take 
our  brother  to  explain  us  this  book,  to  stand  between 


446  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

us  and  God ;  let  him  be  holy  for  us,  pray  for  us,  repre- 
sent a  divine  life.  We  know  these  things  cannot  be, 
but  let  us  make  believe."  The  work  is  accomplished, 
and  we  have  the  Sabbath,  the  church,  the  Bible,  and 
the  ministry;  each  beautiful  in  itself,  but  our  ruin, 
when  made  the  substitutes  for  holiness  of  heart  and  a 
divine  life. 

In  absolute  religion  we  have  what  is  wide  as  the 
east  and  the  west;  deep  and  high  as  the  Nadir  and 
Zenith;  certain  as  truth,  and  everlasting  as  God.  But 
in  our  life  we  are  heathens.  He  that  fears  God  be- 
comes a  prey.  To  be  religious,  with  us,  in  speech  and 
action,  a  man  must  take  his  life  in  his  hand,  and  be  a 
lamb  among  the  wolves.  Does  our  Christianity  enter 
the  counting-room;  the  senate  house;  the  jail.?  Does 
it  look  on  ignorance  and  poverty,  seeking  to  root  them 
out  of  the  land.?  The  religious  doctrine  of  work  and 
wages  is  a  plain  thing;  he  that  wins  the  staple  from 
the  material  earth;  who  expends  strength,  skill,  taste, 
on  that  staple,  making  it  more  valuable ;  who  aids  men 
to  be  healthier,  wiser,  better,  more  holy,  he  does  a  ser- 
vice to  the  race ;  does  the  world's  work.  To  get  com- 
modities won  by  others'  sweat,  by  violence  and  the  long 
arm,  is  robbery,  the  ancient  Roman  way;  to  get  them 
by  cunning  and  the  long  head,  is  trade,  the  modern 
Christian  way.  What  say  reason  and  Jesus  to  that.? 
No  doubt  the  Christianity  of  the  pulpit  is  a  poor  thing. 
Words  cannot  utter  its  poverty ;  it  is  neither  meat  nor 
drink ;  the  text  saves  the  sermon.  But  the  Christianity 
of  daily  life,  of  the  street,  that  is  still  worse,  the  whole 
Bible  could  not  save  it.  The  history  of  society  is 
summed  up  in  a  word :  Cain  killed  Abel ;  that  of  real 
religion  also  in  a  word :     Christ  died  for  his  brother. 


THE  CONCLUSION  447 

From  ancient  times  we  have  received  two  priceless 
treasures:  the  Sunday,  as  a  day  of  rest,  social  meet- 
ing, and  religious  instruction ;  and  the  institution  of 
preaching,  whereby  a  living  man  is  to  speak  on  the 
deepest  of  subjects.  But  what  have  we  made  of  them? 
Our  Sabbath,  what  a  weariness  is  it ;  what  superstition 
defiles  its  sunny  hours  !  And  preaching  —  what  has  it 
to  do  with  life?  Men  graceless  and  ungifted  make  it 
handiwork ;  a  sermon  is  the  Hercules-pillar  and  ultima 
Thule  of  dullness.  The  popular  religion  is  unmanly 
and  sneaking.  It  dares  not  look  reason  in  the  face, 
but  creeps  behind  tradition  and  only  quotes.  It  has 
nothing  new  and  living  to  say.  To  hear  its  talk  one 
would  think  God  was  dead,  or  at  best  asleep.  We 
have  enough  of  church-going,  a  remnant  of  our  fathers' 
veneration,  which  might  lead  to  great  good ;  reverence 
still  for  the  Sabbath,  one  of  the  best  institutions  the 
stream  of  time  has  brought  us ;  we  have  still  admiration 
for  the  name  of  Jesus.  A  soul  so  great  and  pure  could 
not  have  lived  in  vain.  But  to  call  ourselves  Christians 
after  his  kind  of  religion,  while  we  are  keeping  slaves 
and  stoning  prophets  —  may  God  forgive  that  mock- 
ery!  Are*  men  to  serve  God  by  lengthening  the  creed 
and  shortening  the  commandments ;  making  long  pray- 
ers and  devouring  the  weak ;  by  turning  reason  out  of 
doors  and  condemning  such  as  will  not  believe  our 
theology,  nor  accept  a  priest's  falsehood  in  God's 
name? 

Religion  is  life.  Is  our  life  religion?  No  man  pre- 
tends it.  No  doubt  there  are  good  men  in  all  churches, 
and  out  of  all  churches;  there  have  been  such  in  the 
hold  of  pirate-ships  and  robbers'  dens.  I  know  there 
are  good  men  and  pious  women,  and  I  would  go 
leagues  long  to  sit  down  at  their  blessed  feet  and  kiss 


448         A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

their  garments'  hem;  but  what  are  the  mass  of  us? 
Disciples  of  absolute  religion?  Christians  after  the 
fashion  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth?  No !  only  Christians  in 
tongue.  It  is  an  imputed  righteousness  that  we  honor ; 
not  ours,  but  borrowed  of  tradition;  an  "historical 
Christianity  "  that  was,  but  is  no  more.  A  man  is  a 
Christian  if  he  goes  to  meeting  in  a  fashionable  place ; 
pays  his  pew-tax;  bows  to  the  parson;  believes  with 
his  sect ;  is  good  as  other  people.  That  is  our  religion ; 
what  is  lived,  what  is  preached ;  "  like  people,  like 
priest,"  was  never  more  true. 

It  is  not  that  we  need  new  forms  and  symbols,  or 
even  the  rejection  of  the  old.  Baptism  and  the  supper 
are  still  beautiful  and  comforting  to  many  a  soul.  A 
spiritual  man  can  put  spirit  upon  these.  To  many 
they  are  still  powerful  auxiliaries.  They  commune 
with  God  now  and  then  —  through  bread  and  wine,  as 
others  hold  converse  with  Him  forever,  through  the 
symbols  of  nature,  the  winds  that  wake  the  "  soft  and 
soul-like  sound  "  of  the  pine  tree ;  through  the  earliest 
violets  of  spring  and  the  last  leaf  of  autumn ;  through 
calm  and  storm,  and  stars  and  blooming  trees  and  win- 
ter's snows  and  summer's  sunshine.  A  religious  man 
never  lacks  symbols  of  its  own,  elements  of  communion 
with  God.  What  we  want  is  the  soul  of  religion,  re- 
ligion that  thinks  and  works ;  its  sign  will  take  care  of 
itself. 

With  us  religion  is  a  nun;  she  sits,  of  week  days, 
behind  her  black  veil,  in  the  meeting-house ;  her  hands 
on  her  knees;  making  her  creed  more  unreadable; 
damning  "  infidels  "  and  "  carnal  reason ;  "  she  only 
comes  out  in  the  streets  of  a  Sunday,  when  the  shops 
are  shut,  and  temptation  out  of  sight  and  the  din  of 
business  is  still  as  a  baby's  sleep.     All  the  week,  no- 


THE  CONCLUSION  449 

body  thinks  of  that  joyless  vestal.  Meantime  strong- 
handed  cupidity,  with  its  legion  of  devils,  goes  up  and 
down  the  earth,  and  presses  weakness,  ignorance,  and 
want  into  his  service;  sends  Bibles  to  Africa  on  the 
deck  of  his  ship,  and  rum  and  gunpowder  in  the  hold, 
knowing  that  the  church  he  pays  will  pray  for  "  the 
outward  bound."  He  brings  home,  most  Christian  cu- 
pidity, images  of  himself  God  has  carved  in  ebony ;  to 
enslave  and  so  Christianize  and  bless  the  sable  son  of 
Ethiopia!  Verily  we  are  a  Christian  people;  zealous 
of  good-works ;  drawing  nigh  unto  God  —  with  our 
lips !  Lives  there  a  savage  tribe  our  sons  have  visited, 
that  has  not  cause  to  curse  and  hate  the  name  of 
Christians,  who  have  plundered,  polluted,  slain,  en- 
slaved their  children.?  Not  one  the  wide  world  round, 
from  the  Mandans  to  the  Malays.  If  there  were  but 
half  the  religion  in  all  Christendom,  that  there  is  talk 
of  it  during  a  "  revival,"  in  a  village ;  at  the  baseness, 
political,  commercial,  social  baseness  daily  done  in  the 
world,  such  a  shout  of  indignation  would  go  up  from 
the  four  corners  of  earth,  as  should  make  the  ears  of 
cupidity  tingle  again,  and  would  hustle  the  oppressor 
out  of  creation. 

The  poor,  the  ignorant,  the  weak,  have  we  always 
with  us ;  inasmuch  as  we  do  good  unto  them,  we  serve 
God ;  inasmuch  as  we  do  it  not  unto  the  least  of  them, 
we  blaspheme  God  and  cumber  the  ground  we  tread 
on.  Was  there  no  meaning  in  that  word,  "  He  that 
knew  his  Lord's  will  and  did  it  not,  shall  be  beaten 
with  many  stripes  ?  "  They  are  already  laid  upon  us. 
Religion  meant  something  with  Paul;  something  with 
Jesus ;  what  does  it  mean  with  us  ?  A  divine  life  from 
infancy  to  age ;  divine  all  through .?     Oh,  no  ;  a  cheaper 

thing  than   that;   it  means   talk,   creed-making,   and 
III— 29 


450  A  DISCOURSE  OF  RELIGION 

creed-believing,  and  creed-defending.  We  Christians 
of  the  "  nineteenth  century,"  have  many  "  inventions 
to  save  labor;"  among  them  a  process  by  which  "a 
man  is  made  as  good  a  Christian  in  five  minutes  as  in 
fifty  years."  Behold  Christianity  made  easy!  Do 
men  love  rehgion  and  its  divine  life,  as  gain  and  trade? 
Is  it  the  great  moving  principle  with  us;  something 
loved  for  itself;  something  to  live  by.?  Oh,  no.  No- 
body pretends  it. 

No  wonder  "  ministers  cannot  bear  to  hear  the  truth 
spoken ;"  five  minutes'  talk  will  not  weigh  down  fifty 
years'  work,  save  in  the  Church's  balance.  The  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Churches  stands  at  the  corner  of  the 
street,  and  bellows  till  all  rings  again  from  Cape  Sable 
to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  if  a  single  "  heretic  "  lifts 
up  his  voice,  though  never  so  weak,  in  the  obscurest 
corner  of  the  earth;  but  Giant  Sin  may  go  through 
the  land  with  his  hideous  rout;  may  ride  rough-shod 
over  the  poor,  and  burn  the  standing  corn  and  poison 
the  waters  of  the  nation,  and  shake  the  very  Church 
till  the  steeple  rock  —  and  there  shall  not  a  dog  wag 
his  tongue.  When  did  the  Christianity  of  the  churches 
leave  a  heresy  unscathed;  when  did  it  ever  denounce 
a  popular  sin  —  the  desolation  of  intemperance,  our 
butchery  of  the  Indians,  the  soul-destroying  traffic  in 
the  flesh  and  blood  of  men  "  for  whom  Christ  died  ?  " 
These  things  need  no  comment.  They  tell  their  own 
tale.  Where  is  the  infidelity  of  this  age.?  Read  the 
sectarian  newspapers.  We  have  a  theological  religion 
to  defend  with  tracts,  sermons,  ministers,  and  scandal. 
It  needs  all  that  to  defend  it. 

No  wonder  young  men,  and  young  women  too,  of 
the  most  spiritual  stamp,  lose  their  reverence  for  the 
Church,  or  come  into  it  only  for  a  slumber,  irresistible, 


THE  CONCLUSION  461 

profound,  and  strangely  similar  to  death.  What  con- 
cord hath  freedom  with  slavery?  Talent  goes  to  the 
world,  not  the  churches.  No  wonder  unbelief  scoffs 
in  the  public  print,  "  beside  what  that  grim  wolf,  with 
privy  paw,  daily  devours  apace,  and  nothing  said;" 
there  is  an  unbelief,  worse  than  the  public  scoffing, 
though  more  secret,  which  needs  not  be  spoken  of.  No 
wonder  the  old  cry  is  raised,  "  The  Church  in  danger," 
as  its  crazy  timbers  sway  to  and  fro  if  a  strong  man 
treads  its  floors.  But  what  then.?  What  is  true  never 
fails.  Religion  is  permanent  in  the  race ;  Christianity 
everlasting  as  God.  These  can  never  perish,  through 
the  treachery  of  their  defenders,  or  the  violence  of 
their  foes.  We  look  round  us,  and  all  seems  to  change ; 
what  was  solid  last  night,  is  fluid  and  passed  off  to-day ; 
the  theology  of  our  fathers  is  unreadable ;  the  doctrines 
of  the  middle-age  "  divines  "  is  deceased  like  them. 
Shall  our  mountain  stand?  "  Everywhere  is  instability 
and  insecurity."  It  is  only  men's  heads  that  swim; 
not  the  stars  that  run  round.  The  soul  of  man  remains 
the  same ;  Absolute  Religion  does  not  change ;  God  still 
speaks  in  mind  and  conscience,  heart  and  soul;  is 
still  immanent  in  his  children.  We  need  no  new  forms ; 
the  old.  Baptism  and  the  Supper,  are  still  beautiful  to 
many  a  man,  and  speak  blessed  words  of  religious  sig- 
nificance. Let  them  continue  for  such  as  need  them. 
We  want  real  Christianity,  the  absolute  religion, 
preached  with  faith  and  applied  to  life;  Being  Good 
and  Doing  Good.  There  is  but  one  real  religion ;  we 
need  only  open  our  eyes  to  see  that ;  only  live  it,  in  love 
to  God,  and  love  to  man,  and  we  are  blest  of  Him  that 
liveth  forever  and  ever. 


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